Mafia Games
by Sir Apropos
Summary: Kyouya Hibari goes to Italy to investigate the sudden Cavallone wedding, uncovering a deeper plot. D18 6433 93Romario mild 8059 and XS
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Drip… drip… drip… Dino awoke with a start. The ground was hard and rocks were digging into his spine. He felt his eyes, unsure if they were open. He shut his eyes and then opened them slowly. No affect. Drip… drip… drip…He couldn't see and he could hardly hear over that sound. Drip… drip… drip… He felt along the ground until he found a wall and with one hand on the wall he carefully took a step forward. The shooting pains up and down his legs and back brought back hazy images of an altercation with which he had been involved…probably... And as he fought through a more pressing pain originating in his leg and took another step forward, his fingers lighted on the cold steel of bars and it was as though the curtains of recollection had parted to reveal the stage of the tawdry theatre of last night's events. Standing there front and center in all its drunken hazy glory was the party, and why he was now sitting in his own dungeon, and whose fault this was…

* * *

"Kyouya… We… can't keep… this up," Dino said between kisses.

Hibari ignored him. Dino tried to protest again, and Hibari punched him in the side.

"Stop talking," Hibari commanded. He pushed Dino backwards onto the bed. "Besides… You started this…" He kissed down his neck to the edge of his collar and began unbuttoning Dino's shirt.

"All I said was 'hello'." Dino grumbled, swatting away Hibari's hands. He grabbed the other man's lapels and pulled him down onto the bed next to him. He rolled over on top of him, straddling his waist and pinned the other man's arms over his head. Dino looked into Hibari's eyes and could tell what his immediate future would entail. Oh god, did he want it.

He kissed Hibari fiercely. He couldn't help himself; there was something about him that Dino found irresistible, and when he had him at his mercy like this… He knew this is what Hibari had been tempting him to do. Ever since he found out Dino was engaged. It was a matter of pride. There was a little voice inside his head insisting that this was right, that it would be like the old days. Fingers trembling ever so slightly in anticipation he began to unbutton the other man's shirt. It was all he could do not to rip it off of him.

A delicate feminine voice filtered in from outside the room and Hibari felt Dino's fingers hesitate in unbuttoning his pants.

"Oh god," Dino rolled off of Hibari. "I can't. I can't. I can't."

Hibari rolled onto his side and looked at him. Dino has always been an open book to him; the kind with big easy pictures and simple three letter words. Although he would never tell him, he found Dino's secret simplicity comforting, especially knowing that he was the only person privy to this side of him. Hibari examined Dino's face, he was pale, his normally shiny blond hair was dull, and there was something missing from his brown eyes.

"Dino I can tell you don't want to do this," Hibari said.

"Really? You mean me protesting from the moment you came in wasn't a clue?" Dino said sarcastically, staring at the ceiling.

"I meant this marriage," Hibari said patiently.

Dino said nothing. He glanced over at Hibari and the moment he did, he wished he hadn't. Laying there with his shirt open… He forced himself to look Hibari in the face. He focused on Hibari's black hair, blue Asian eyes… it did not help. He wanted to run his fingers through his hair, to kiss him…

"I know you have your obligations to the family, but we could still…" Hibari reached over and trailed a finger along Dino's arm.

Dino laughed. "You of all people would be able to stand sharing?"

Hibari frowned. "I could handle it." He left the "for you" hanging loudly in the air, unspoken.

Dino sighed. "If I'm married I'm not going to cheat. I can't."

"Not even for me?"

"Not even for anyone," Dino reached out to touch his face. Hibari knocked his hand away and stood up.

His patience was wearing thin. "You don't have to stay married for long!"

"What?" Dino said standing up too.

"Just a couple years, and get rid of her," He began to re-button his shirt. An unwanted feeling of embarrassment washed over him mixing with feeling of frustration and anger.

"What?" Dino couldn't believe this; he had never seen Hibari so flustered, grasping at straws.

"Claim she's barren," He said matter-of-factly. "It'll work. Your family is obsessed with heirs."

"Kyouya…She's had children…" Dino sighed sitting back down on the bed his face in his hands.

"Think of something else then!"

"My children." The words crept into the air from between Dino's fingers. Despite how quietly they were spoken Hibari winced, they had hit their mark; it was like a bomb had been detonated in his chest.

"Children? More than one?" He hissed. He could not believe it. Dino had… with someone else… while they were…

"Two. They're twins…" Dino couldn't look him in the eyes.

"When? Not while we…?" Hibari demanded aggressively standing over him. He had to know.

"Coming from the man who wanted me to commit adultery for him," He could not help himself. He knew he was being confrontational. He knew he was going too far.

"That's different."He whispered. "I..We lo…" He stopped himself in time. He hadn't said it before, there was no way he was going to say it now.

"Kyouya, you won't believe me, but it was before I met you." Dino said. "A little over three years ago," He stood up and wrapped his arms around Kyouya. "You know you're the only man I've ever…"

Hibari pushed him away. "Then why now? Why wait three years to marry her? Why did you… With me?"

This was a day of firsts. Hibari never talked so much and never let his emotions show so blatantly. Dino felt wretched.

"She came to me a few months ago. I originally told her no. She appealed to a higher authority." Dino grimaced. "Mother." It might have been his imagination but he could have sworn he saw Hibari go a little paler at her mention.

"You've never had to take orders from her before,"

"Yes, well… When Victoria went to tell mother about the children and my refusal to marry her, and then someone let it slip…"

"She hasn't found out about us?" Hibari was horrified. He remembered the first time he had met Dino's mother and he recalled her disapproving gaze, as though she could see through him to his weakest moments. He was sure she had seen into the file cabinet of his brain and riffled through his catalog of fears. After that moment every time he would come into contact with her Cherry blossoms would be somewhere in the room with them, innocuous and innocent. She was formidable.

"She's had… suspicions…" Dino looked away. "You know she's never liked you."

"The feeling is mutual." Hibari murmured.

Dino sighed and walked over toward the full length mirror in the corner of the room, away from Hibari. "You know I don't understand why you came."Dino said straightening his rumpled clothes in the mirror. "How did you find out when it was? Did Ryohei tell you?"

Hibari looked slightly taken aback by this. "You did. You sent me an invitation." He picked up his suit jacket off the floor and pulled out a gold-rimmed invitation card. Dino took it from him and stared at it.

"This is impossible." He whispered. Hibari just gave him a questioning look. "No. I personally wrote and addressed every single invitation. I did not send this to you."

"You weren't going to invite me." Hibari said matter-of-factly, as though this truth was not apparent enough and needed to be repeated.

"Oh really. Invite my boyfriend to my wedding?" Dino snorted. "I do have some tact thank you very much."He threw the invitation across the room. "I wrote over 5000 invitations by hand. You have no idea how long that took…"Hibari rolled his eyes. That was just like him, everything had to have the personal touch.

"5000 will be at the ceremony?" Hibari looked at him skeptically. "Did you reserve the Vatican?"

"Well not everyone will be at the ceremony, but the after parties and receptions. It's going to be a long week." Dino sighed. He looked at himself in the mirror and grimaced at what he saw. "It's not every day the rich and powerful Cavallone boss gets married...Again." Hibari knew not to take the bait. Dino had told him about how his first wife, Carmen, when they were training for his fight against the Varia; she had died giving birth to his fourth child Antonio the year previous to their meeting. The Cavallone family was keen on marrying early and having a lot of children as soon as possible, a tradition that the 9th Cavallone had shirked, as Dino was his only child, whom he had fathered late in life.

Hibari picked up the invitation and examined it. "Who would have invited me then? You know your goons wouldn't let me enter the estate without an invitation."

Dino shot him an annoyed look. "They're not goons. We're on lock down at the moment," He took the invitation and examined it further. "I don't know probably someone did it as a joke." He looked at his watch impatiently. "I'm sorry I've got to go. If you're going to stick around, please keep out of the way. I don't need any more trouble." He turned to go and hesitated.

He realized this may be his last moment alone with his former lover, there were so many things he wanted to say, that he needed to express, and he knew that there was not enough time in the world for it. He turned around and gave Hibari one last deep kiss. "I love you…. And…I'm so… so sorry."

* * *

a/n: My first story. Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Kyouya Hibari made his way through the maze of rooms that was the Cavallone mansion. He found his right –hand man Kusakabe leaning against the wall of the corridor chatting amiably with Romario his Cavallone opposite number. Both men were taller than Kyouya who was 5ft. 6in. on a good day. But it was obvious by their reactions to his presence that he was the one to be feared.

"Kyo-san," Kusakabe straightened up when he saw him stalking towards them.

"News?" Hibari asked. It wasn't so much a question as a demand for information.

"Well…" Kusakabe glanced wearily at Romario, who was quietly glad his boss was so much easier to deal with than Hibari. "Victoria, the bride, has two children which she…um… claims are Mr. Cavallone's… and they're both boys… Dimitrio and Davide...And they are getting married at 4:00 today."

"Did they do a paternity test?" Hibari demanded mentally waving away the redundant information.

Romario stepped in. "Yes. Dino insisted… There is no question they are his children…" Romario trailed off his gaze shifting from Hibari's cold expression to a point behind him. Hibari turned to find Dino's mother.

"Ah! Hibari? Wasn't it?" She said sweetly. Hibari inclined his head in a slight nod. "You're here early… We weren't expecting guests as of yet…" She had a smile that was fixed to her face like a picture to its frame. It hung there with no real emotion behind it, just a wall. He could hardly see how she could have mothered Dino. Their only similarities lay in their hair and a few details around the face, but Dino's vitality and personality could never have spawned from this woman. It made him wish he could have met Cavallone senior before he died.

"It was a mistake with the airline, but we were able to find seats on an earlier flight." Kusakabe said apologetically. "We were lucky to make it at all."

"Oh, what a shame," She said, her smile still in place. "Well as the mother of the groom and the hostess, do let me know if there is anything I can do to make you more comfortable." She moved past them down the hall toward her office. On a whim Hibari trailed after her. He silently followed her into the room and shut the door with a click behind them announcing his presence.

She turned slowly. "Can I help you with… Something?" She said.

"Why do you want me here?" Hibari asked quietly.

"I don't know what you mean, I'm sure." She said her sweet little smile slid off her face. "You are an honored member of the Vongola family, so of course you are wanted here."

Hibari said nothing. They held each others' gaze.

"Dino did not invite me, someone else did," He pulled out the invitation card. "This looks like your handwriting." He held it out to her, but she waved it away.

"I do apologize if there was an oversight regarding your invitation." She said quickly, she gathered up the smile and secured it back in place. "But, as you are here and you have an invitation, I can hardly see where the trouble lies. If you do not wish to attend the ceremony then I dare say your scramble for a flight was wasted, as your presence at this event is not obligatory."

Hibari ignored her. Maybe there was more of her in Dino than he had thought; he must have learned his ability with words from her. "That's all I wanted to know." He turned and left her there standing rigidly in a flowerless room.

* * *

Upon exiting the office he found Kusakabe and Romario, who had been nonchalantly pretending not to have been eavesdropping next to the door. Hibari turned towards Romario and fixed him to the wall with a glare. "How old are the woman's children?"

"Well, they're about 3 years old." Romario said.

"Who told his mother about us?" Hibari said still no change in expression. Hibari's face was a porcelain mask. "How much contact has he had with this woman?"

"I don't know," Romario said sweating slightly; this was probably the longest conversation he had ever had with Hibari. "I know for a fact that Dino had no encounters with this woman after the… impregnation, until about 4 or 5 months ago."

Then why didn't anyone tell me until I received this invitation? Hibari wondered. He needed to talk to Ryohei Sasagawa. He turned on his heels and stalked off. Kusakabe gave Romario an apologetic look and ran after him. Romario breathed a sigh of relief. He had done as his boss instructed.

* * *

a/n: Went ahead and posted the second chapter. Since it's so short. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

The clock struck noon on the day of the wedding and the honored guests of the Vongola family were arriving. As the Vongola family is a very powerful and respected ally of the Cavallone family, they were offered rooms in the guest house. Ryohei Sasagawa hustled up the steps to the patio with his luggage in tow. From the front door a maid showed him to his room and he threw his suitcases down on the bed. A week in Italy, he was so excited he could hardly express it. "This is Kyoukugen!" He yelled, pumping his fists in the air.

"Is that the cry of my Ryo-schwann?" A somewhat effeminate voice sashayed into the room soon to be followed closely by its owner.

"Lus!" Ryohei exclaimed turning around to greet the man with a bear hug. Lussuria of the Varia was just as he remembered, still dressing flamboyantly, with his multi-colored hair, big sunglasses, and pink feathered boa.

"Ryo-chan it has been much too long since you've come to visit me." He pouted. "But you're still looking good enough to eat!" He said. His eyes gave Ryohei the once over and taking in his short-spiky white hair, grey eyes, and fit boxer-physique. They locked eyes for a moment and suddenly he was on top of Ryohei kissing him fiercely trying to inject into that kiss six months of built up frustration. He pushed him back onto the bed shoving the suitcases to the floor.

Ryohei found himself kicking off his shoes and fumbling with Lussuria's boa attempting to get it out of the way. Lussuria pulled Ryohei's t-shirt off of him and with a swift tug his pants were gone. He was once again kissing him. Over the past few years Ryohei had become Lussuria's addiction. Every waking moment Lussuria found his thoughts consumed by him. He nipped Ryohei's bottom lip and mentally told himself he had to slow down. He wanted to make this last as long as possible. Tenderly, he trailed kisses down Ryohei's neck and slid his tongue over soft skin.

Ryohei closed his eyes as he felt Lussuria slide his hands down his chest relishing in tracing the ridges of his abs. A slight gasp escaped Ryohei's mouth as his lover's fingers approached the edge of his boxers. Lussuria smiled and pulled off his own shirt. Ryohei grabbed his neck and pulled him in for another kiss forcefully shoving his tongue into the other man's mouth, wanting him to go faster. He found himself kissing down his lover's neck, caressing Lussuria's skin with his tongue, and finally bit into his shoulder. Lussuria moaned and grabbing Ryohei's hair pulling him away from his shoulder and forced him into another kiss. He preferred to make his impatient Ryohei wait.

Goosebumps rose on Ryohei's flesh as Lussuria began running his fingers over his groin. He kissed down the boxing-fanatic's neck and nibbled at his ear as he pulled off the man's boxers. He ran his tongue down his chest and Ryohei gasped as Lussuria finally took him into his mouth.

"VOI! If you're going to do that, SHUT THE GOD DAMN DOOR!" They heard someone yell and the door to their room slammed shut.

Lussuria ignored the interruption and continued his work. "Luss!" Ryohei moaned. "I'm…" He couldn't finish his sentence. Lussuria pulled back, stopping before Ryohei could reach the point of ecstasy. Ryohei gave him a pleading look, and an evil grin spread across Lussuria's face. "No!" Ryohei said quickly. "I told you last time I would never do that again to the EXTREME!" Ryohei pushed the other man off of him and got up from the bed.

Lussuria jumped up and grabbed Ryohei by the wrists to keep him from escaping and spinning him around and bending him over as he slammed him back onto the bed. "You say that every time…" He whispered sweetly into his ear and kissed him on the back of the neck. Lussuria reached around him and stroked his erection. "I think you like it," He purred, he liked it when he struggled. With one hand on Ryohei he used the other to pull a bottle out of his pocket before discarding his own pants. He applied liberal amounts of lubricant to himself and his fingers. He eased his fingers inside him. Ryohei gripped the sheets as he felt Lussuria's fingers move prepping him, he moaned, the anticipation of what came next was torture. Lussuria removed his fingers and easing in slowly penetrated him, he let out a groan at the tightness around his cock. Ryohei let out a moan as Lussuria began to move in and out of him his pace increasing faster and faster. Every passing second getting closer to… BANG BANG BANG. Someone knocked on the door, ignoring the sound, Lussuria continued to stroke Ryohei's erection in time with his movements. Sasagawa gripped the sheets as Lussuria's pace quickened. "I'm kyokugenly close!"He groaned into the bed. BANG. BANG. BANG! Someone kicked open the door. Hibari stood in the doorway flanked by Kusakabe. Kusakabe blushed red at the sight of Lussuria and Ryohei before them. Hibari's expression remained unchanged.

"Hi!" Lussuria panted a huge smile on his face. He did not stop pounding into Ryohei. "Do you mind giving us a moment here?"

"I need to talk to Ryohei," Hibari said quietly. Kusakabe averted his eyes.

Ryohei kept his face buried in the sheets. Lussuria did not let up. "Ok then, I'll be done in a minute," Lussuria smiled. He leaned forward and whispered in Ryohei's ear. "We have an audience now… Better put on a performance." He kept up his pace, making it last longer just to spite Hibari. Ryohei felt like there was a spot light on him. There was no way he could continue with Hibari watching him, but he knew that Lussuria would never let up until he made him cum. To his shame, he found that a little piece of himself found the audience made the experience that much more… exciting, especially considering it was Hibari. Finally, Ryohei and Lussuria, making a show of it, climaxed loudly. Lussuria kissed Ryohei on the back of the neck, pulled out, put his clothes back on and left.

Ryohei covered himself in the sheets pulling them off the bed and wrapping them around him like a cocoon, as though this protective shell could hide him from his embarrassment.

"You are a pain in the ass to the EXTREME!" He said sitting up and facing Hibari, who hadn't moved. Kusakabe had backed into the hallway.

Hibari glared at him. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about to the EXTREME!" Ryohei sat back against the head board of the bed. "Didn't tell you about what?"

"About this wedding," Hibari clarified. He had to keep reminding himself to keep in mind the mental capacity of his fellow Vongola family member.

"I thought Dino would tell you," Ryohei said, pulling the rest of the blankets up to add to his cocoon. Hibari said nothing; he just raised a delicate eyebrow in skepticism. Ryohei sighed, somehow Hibari could always see through his extreme skills of deception. "Dino asked us not to tell you… Although I forgot about it to the EXTREME, but he wrote it on my invitation as a reminder."He nodded towards his pants on the floor. Hibari gingerly picked up the pants and pulled a slightly crumpled invitation out of the pocket. Underneath the information about date and venue done all in Dino's neat handwriting there was a short note at the bottom.

Ryohei,

Please remember not to divulge to Kyouya any information concerning the wedding. There is a lot at stake here and his involvement may make things more difficult for all concerned.

Thanking you for your discretion,

Dino Cavallone 10th

Hibari blinked. Why would Dino write this here? What was he missing? What was at stake? There were so many questions swimming around in his head, he felt like they were pulling him down, drowning him. Hibari threw Sasagawa's pants at him. Ryohei was so wrapped up in blankets, he couldn't move and they hit him in the face.

"What 'things' will I make more difficult?" He said looking up at Ryohei.

"How should I know?" Ryohei yelled.

He stepped forward and pulling out his tonfa pressed one against Ryohei's neck. "Don't lie to me," He hissed.

Ryohei swallowed. "I shouldn't have lied to the extreme! That was not Kyokugen of me!" He apologized. "But I really don't know what you're talking about!"

Hibari spun on his heels and swept out of the room, Kusakabe following behind him. Sasagawa sighed. With some effort Ryohei extradited himself from his cocoon. What he wanted to do more than anything else right at this moment was take a shower. He got up and closed the door and locked it.

* * *

"Master Hibari!" A maid said running over to them as Hibari and Kusakabe exited the room. "Would you like me to take you to see your rooms now?"

Hibari nodded silently and followed the maid a little ways down the hall. She opened the door to a room that was smaller than Ryohei's though equally as lavishly decorated. There was a small twin sized bed with its headboard pushed against the opposite wall and next to it on the floor were two suitcases.

"Master Dino had us bring your suitcases here for you." She said. Hibari raised an eyebrow at Kusakabe who was still carrying their overnight bags on his back. "If there is anything else we can do for you, please let us know." With that she curtsied and led Kusakabe to his room on the floor below.

Hibari picked up one of the bags and opened it. His eyes widened in surprise at its contents. He grabbed the other case and slammed it on the bed next to the first and opened it. Neatly packed and organized inside both cases were all the things Hibari had left in Dino's house over their three years of seeing each other. He felt his throat tighten as he threw the cases off of his bed in anger. As the contents scattered all over the floor he realized it wasn't just things he had left at the mansion, but presents he and Dino had exchanged. He kicked the contents across the room shattering a bottle of cologne, he stepped on and smashed a picture frame, and he kept on destroying. Feeling as if every object he crushed was another memory that did not have to haunt him. If he crushed everything then maybe he wouldn't have to feel anymore. He finally sat down on the bed and rested his head in his hands. _Something_ wasn't right. There was much more to this than what was before him. He looked up.

It had all disappeared.

He gritted his teeth. That was it. This was one step too far. Someone was going to have to pay for this. He stood up and left.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. :) Just an FYI, I will be posting a new chapter every week or so. Reviews and criticism is always welcome. :)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Dino stood in front of the mirror straightening his bow tie. Just a couple more hours until the walk down the aisle. He sighed. This was going to be a long week. He knew that. There was a knock at the door. "Come in,"

Romario stepped in. "Your children would like to have a word with you." He held the door open and 6 blond children entered.

"Daddy!" His eldest daughter Carlotta yelled, she was fastest into the room. He bent down and gave her a bear hug. His son Antonio was next in, followed by Isabella and Catalina who were helping, what Dino couldn't help but think of as, his two new sons. He gave all of them hugs and sat down on the floor. Everyone wanted to sit in his lap and Carlotta, keeping in mind diplomacy: a word Dino had recently taught her, just sat next to him leaning on his arm. Antonio didn't bother with his lap but jumped on his back; inherently understanding that father is a synonym for jungle gym.

"Daddy, can we ask you something" Isabella said looking up at her father, she had big brown eyes just like his own, they looked worried.

"Of course pumpkin!" He said.

"Are Davide and Dimitrio… Cavallone?" Catalina asked playing with the hem of her new dress. Dino looked at Davide and Dimitrio they were both looking up at him expectantly. Dino sighed inwardly. He had a similar argument with Carlotta a few weeks previously about Victoria becoming their new mother. She had refused to acknowledge her, feeling that Victoria was trying to replace her biological mother, with whom she had been close. He had sat her down in her room and had a long talk with her about how in time she may see Victoria as another mother and that Victoria was not a replacement for her biological mother… He also taught her diplomacy and how sometimes, as a Cavallone, you need to do what will make other people happy for the good of the family. He remembered telling her that if she did call Victoria mother it would make Victoria happy which would make the family happy; even if she didn't mean it.

"Davide and Dimitrio are Cavallone through and through," He said tousling the younger boys' hair. "They are my children as much as any of you. I want the entire world to know it! That is what this ceremony is about, really, bringing our family together!"

"But they don't know all the Cavallone Secret Codes!" Antonio said worriedly.

"Well you should teach them then!" Dino said. "You are their elder brother it is your job to teach them and watch over them. You're the big man Tony!" Antonio tightened his grip around his father's neck in a hug. Dino choked a little.

"All right!" Antonio yelled. "I'm the big brother! I'm no longer the youngest!" He wasn't going to be the smallest and weakest anymore! Nor was he going to be the sole recipient of his sisters' bullying! He was so excited he accidentally kicked Dino in the back.

"That's right Tony!" Dino said proudly, ignoring the pain shooting through his spine. "What's the first Cavallone Secret Code?" Out of the corner of his eye, Dino saw Romario roll his eyes in exasperation. Dino and his first wife had come up with the Cavallone Secret Code as a joke, and now all their children had learnt it by heart.

"Family is number one!" They chorused.

"And the second?" Dino asked mock seriously.

"Don't trust strangers, unless Daddy says it's ok." They said.

"Third?"

"Eat all your vegetables!" They said happily. Catalina tugged on Dino's bow tie. "But Daddy why does Uncle Kyouya call people he doesn't like herbivores? Lotta and I looked it up; it means people who only eat vegetables!" Dino pondered this for a moment.

"You like Uncle Kyouya a lot… don't you?" He said after a moment.

"Yes!" They all said in unison. "Remember that one time when that guy came too close to us at the park?" Antonio said excitedly. "Uncle Kyouya just smashed his head into the concrete! He's so cool."

"He took care of me when I was sick," Isabella said languidly. "He's very nice,"

"Well…" Dino wasn't sure how to phrase this. "After the wedding… Uncle Kyouya may not have the time to come visit as often…"

"How come?" Carlotta said sharply. Dino opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted when the door opened and his mother entered.

"There you are!" She screeched. "What are you all doing on the floor? Get up! We have to finish getting you ready!" She glared at Romario as though this were entirely his fault. "Finish getting Dino ready!" She snapped, with that she herded the children out of the room.

Dino stood and brushed the dust off of his pants. He looked in the mirror. He straightened his shirt and bow tie and looked at Romario. "Have you finished getting me ready yet?"

* * *

Tsuna Sawada stood as still as he possibly could whilst Mukuro Rokudo finished tying his tie.

"Thanks," He said sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed that he did not know how to tie a tie. He looked into the mirror his pale complexion and brown eyes looked back at him. He wished that his unruly brown hair could be styled in some way, as it was it stuck out in weird directions. Mukuro glanced into the mirror, he had two different colored eyes one black one red, his blue hair was pulled back and spiked.

"It's not a problem," Mukuro smiled. He grabbed a hold of Tsuna's chin and moved him into a kiss. "Payment for the help."

"Are you going to possess Chrome all day today?" Tsuna asked warily.

"I may let her out in a little bit…" He said noncommittally.

There was a pounding on the door and before Tsuna could say anything it flung open and slammed into the wall so hard it came partly off of its hinges. Hibari stood in the doorway breathing heavily. His knuckles were white as he gripped his tonfas in anger. He could hardly stand his rage. It was all consuming. He felt as though his chest would explode, all he could hear was the blood pounding in his ears. He launched himself across the room at Mukuro.

He ignored Tsuna's flailing arms and pushed him out of the way. Hibari brought his tonfa up and smashed the end of one into Mukuro's chest. Mukuro fell backwards into the wall and laughed. He said something that Hibari did not even register as he swung his other tonfa around to hit him in the side of the head. Mukuro managed to dodge it and suddenly he wasn't there anymore. Chrome was standing there in a simple yellow dress and matching eye-patch. Hibari yelled in frustration and punched a hole in the wall. He did not want to take his anger out on Chrome, he wanted Mukuro.

"Hi-hibari!" Tsuna squeaked. "What's wrong?" Hibari turned towards Tsuna glowering.

Tsuna began to sweat under Hibari's unblinking glare. "What is this a-about …"He swallowed hard. Hibari took a step forwards towering over him in his anger. Hibari remained silent. He knew that Tsuna did not keep up with politics well, especially in another country and concerning a different family. He would not get any satisfaction out of interrogating Tsuna. He had gotten distracted from his task. He spun on his heels and left.

* * *

As one of the groomsmen Squalo knew he was running late to meet with the rest of the wedding party. He and his boss, Xanxus, had gotten a little distracted whilst changing into their suits. Squalo swept his thigh length silver hair out of his gray eyes and checked his watch. 15:00. Dino's mother was going to kill him. He hurriedly finished buttoning his shirt and glanced at Xanxus who was still lying naked in bed, watching him dress. Squalo's gaze drifted over his boss's scarred muscular physique, and lighted on his handsome face. He took in his messy black hair and cold red eyes. It made him want to join him for another round of distraction. He glanced back down at his watch and grimaced.

"Voi! You need to be getting ready!" Squalo yelled at him, picking up his pants off of the floor and throwing them at him. He searched for his bow tie and found it hastily flung over the back of a chair.

"You look like an idiot," Xanxus said standing up and putting on his pants.

There was a knock on the door. Glancing at Xanxus to make sure he was decent, Squalo opened the door. Hibari pushed his way into the room.

"What do you want?" Xanxus said putting on his shirt and beginning to button it.

Hibari looked at Squalo. "Why?"

Squalo must have inherently understood what this ambiguous question meant; he glanced at Xanxus who gave him a slight nod. "Things are not going well in Italy right now."He said abruptly. Hibari raised an eyebrow. Squalo continued. "There is another rival family which is gaining a lot of attention as of late, and they've been encroaching on a lot of other families' territories. As the Cavallone family is one of the more powerful families they need to take action…"

"So he's getting married." Hibari could hardly believe it.

"Yes, to the rival family's daughter. This will form an alliance and will protect all of the Cavallone allies from their aggression." Squalo said impatiently. "It's the easiest way to settle the conflict, with the least loss of life." Hibari snorted this was just like Dino. He appalled violent solutions to problems, unlike Hibari.

"The children?" Hibari asked.

"Complications." Xanxus said straightening his tie. He grabbed his jacket off of the bed. "Squalo, the time."

"Voi! I'm going," Squalo shouted he grabbed his own jacket and stalked from the room.

Hibari and Xanxus stood and looked at each other. They had never really talked before, outside of business on behalf of Vongola. Xanxus moved toward the door and Hibari followed, he needed to find Kusakabe and get to the cathedral.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. :) Just an FYI, I will be posting a new chapter every week or so. Reviews and criticism is always welcome. :)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Dino was standing at the altar and wished he had on more comfortable shoes. He scanned the crowd every pew was packed. He smiled inwardly. He knew of Hibari's distaste for crowds and knew that this level of compactness would be more than he could handle. His gaze fell on familiar faces and finally standing in the back looking supremely uncomfortable was Hibari. They locked gazes. Despite his lack of expression Dino could almost read his thoughts and emotions, they were probably very similar to what he was feeling. He knew it must have been his imagination, but he could have sworn that Hibari had just mouthed "don't". He blinked. He must be imagining things. As long as Dino had known Kyouya Hibari he had never been the type to silently plead. The music began and Dino tore his eyes away from Hibari to watch the beginning of the procession.

Hibari stood in the back of the room with Kusakabe. He watched Dino standing by the altar looking over the crowd. Hibari shifted his weight slightly, finding the crowd incredibly uncomfortable. He looked back up and locked eyes with Dino. He felt his insides knot. He felt all the emotions that he had kept under a solid barrier of anger break free and begin to boil up and rise to the surface in small bursts of pain. This was it… Dino was actually going through with it. He had hoped that Dino would call it off at the last second. That all this was going to stop. _Don't!_ Part of him wanted to scream. _Don't!_

The procession started and Hibari watched expressionless as the respective mothers of the bride and groom came down the aisle followed by Dino's six children, Antonio carried a pillow with a ring tied to it while the other two boys shared an identical pillow, they seemed to be treating the procession like a race they kept getting faster as they approached the end of the aisle. Antonio finally broke out into a run and made it to his father's side first, before the other two reached their mother. Dino's girls were dressed in blue frilly dresses. Hibari couldn't help but smirk as he watched them. Catalina who had inherited her father's grace kept tripping over her own feet and spilling the contents of her basket. While Isabella seemingly in her own world absentmindedly picked peddles out of her basket and carelessly let them slip from her fingers. Hibari sympathized with Carlotta who sullenly walked in front of her sisters not bothering with the flower peddles at all.

The music changed and everyone stood and turned to watch as Victoria resplendent in her flowing white gown, escorted by her father, began her walk down the aisle. Hibari scowled. This was his first time seeing her. She was tall and slender. Her auburn hair was twisted up into an elaborate bun. Hibari tried not to notice how beautiful she was. He balled his fists. He hated this woman with every fiber of his being. She was the obstacle between Dino and himself.

The ceremony seemed to go on forever. Hibari let his gaze wander from the front of the room. He scanned the groom's side of the seating and saw his fellow Vongola family members squished into a pew close to the front. He inwardly smiled when he noticed Gokudera fidgeting slightly. He was probably in need of a cigarette. Half way through the ceremony he could not help but notice when Ryohei shot him a look when the priest asked if anyone objected.

Finally the end of the ceremony came and Hibari watched painfully as Dino and Victoria kissed. He felt his previous concoction of emotions dissipate, the boiling subsided. It was all replaced by a cold lead weight. This was it.

Dino was married.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. :) Reviews and criticism is always welcome. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Hibari found himself standing at the back of the crowd, watching the people mingle at the reception. He didn't know why he was there. Well, he knew, but he did not know why he had let himself be dragged along by Ryohei. He had suffered through the dinner in sullen silence while the rest of the Vongola guardians babbled incessantly. They had seated all the Vongola guardians at the same table, so Hibari did not even have his faithful Kusakabe to run interference for him. Chrome would not stop shooting him frightened looks; Ryohei continuously yelled loudly about extremely unimportant things and sprayed his food across the table. Gokudera kept picking fights with Yamamoto, and Tsuna would try to referee. Hibari's one consolation was that the annoying cow was still in Japan.

Hibari leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. He tried not to watch Dino and Victoria make their way around the guests, greeting them and thanking them for attending. He tried not to, but his eyes kept straying back towards them. He watched as Dino would laugh loudly at something some old man said while Victoria would blush delicately. He felt a tug on his jacket and looked down to see Carlotta.

"What?" He said.

"Can I stand here with you?" She said. Hibari nodded and she took up a position next to him and leaned her head against him. Hibari let his arm fall and rested his hand on her shoulder. They stood there in silence for a moment watching the guests.

"Why aren't you dancing with your friends?" Hibari asked after a moment.

"I don't feel like it…" She said. They fell into a comfortable silence again. "I don't like Victoria. She keeps telling me I need to be more lady-like now that I'm 7." She said, embarrassed she looked down at her new shoes. "She keeps insisting I call her mother. I do but I don't like it." She began to cry large tears sliding down her face, she had been holding it in so long and it all suddenly just exploded. "And the worst thing is she's so nice! She's probably going to be a great mom." She continued to sob. She was so angry with herself, it was so childish, but she couldn't stop the tears. "Why won't you be visiting as often now that daddy's married?" She said suddenly.

Hibari frowned. "Where did you hear that?"

"Daddy told us…" She said. She looked up at him. "I don't want you to stop visiting."

With his free hand he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a business card that Dino had insisted he needed as a mafia family member. Despite always having them on hand, this was the first time he had used one. He handed her the card. "I don't think your m…" He paused and mentally rephrased what he was going to say. "I think Vongola tenth will need me to stay in Japan more, so I won't be in Italy as often."

"Thank you," she said sniffling taking the card. Hibari pulled a clean napkin off of a table nearby and crouching down wiped the tears off of her face. "If you EVER need me for ANY reason call this number and I'll be there as soon as I can."He said. She gave him a hug and continued to sob into his shoulder. Hibari saw Dino glance over and see his daughter crying. He hurriedly excused himself from his conversation and ran over to them.

"What happened?" Dino said worriedly. Hibari stood to face Dino, picking up Carlotta who was still crying into his shoulder.

"She's over come with joy." Hibari said scathingly.

"Give her here." Dino said. He took Carlotta from Hibari and sat down in a chair holding her on his lap. He just sat there and hugged her until she finally stopped crying. Hibari handed her the napkin and she wiped her face with it and blew her nose. "Are you ok?" Dino asked carefully. She nodded. "What's wrong?" he pursued cautiously. She did not answer, but pushed herself off of his lap. Dino watched as she ran towards the restroom. He stood up and faced Hibari. They stood there in silence for a moment.

"I better go find the nanny and let her know where Lotta is." Dino said uncomfortably. "She shouldn't be wandering around in this crowd unsupervised." He turned to go and Hibari shot out an arm and grabbed his hand. The sudden movement had surprised himself as much as Dino.

"You could have found another way." Hibari said twisting the new ring around Dino's finger. He suddenly realized what he was doing and let go of his hand and carefully avoided looking at Dino.

"So you know…" He trailed off.

"Squalo told me." Hibari murmured still not looking at him.

"It was the only way to stop them ruining the balance." Dino said quietly. "Otherwise… We'd be in another mafia war." Hibari continued to avoid looking at him.

"So you sacrificed…"Hibari paused for a moment summoning the word "us." There it was; hanging in the air filling the space between them. "You'll say you didn't want to, and I believe that, but the family will always come first." Was what he did not say. "And I respect and love you for that." Is another thing that Hibari felt to his core, but was never uttered there in that moment. Instead what he said was. "You disgust me." He was morbidly pleased to watch Dino wince out of the corner of his eye.

"Kyouya…" He took a step forward. "You have no idea…" Dino felt his resolve waver as Hibari didn't respond he kept staring directly forward at a vague point on the wall. Dino took another step forward. "I still…" Finally Hibari glanced up and looked him in the eye and saw the pained expressions he had been avoiding. Dino moved his hand as though to touch Hibari's face, but half way through the motion seemed to realize what he was doing and turned it into a manly-back slap.

"Go away," Hibari said coldly. Dino grimaced, he had nothing to say to that, he turned back around and left.

No longer satisfied with standing alone Hibari began to walk along the outside of the crowd. He kept hearing snatches of conversations as he passed. Nothing piqued his interest. He walked by two men standing in the corner and their whispered conversation drifted over him.

"…care of Cavallone later," Hibari stopped in his tracks and feigning dropping his business cards bent down and under the cover of picking them up disappeared under the table closest to the two men. "I hear it's all prepared. But, I need you to make sure it's all set up in their hotel room tonight."

"Yeah sure thing boss," The other man muttered. Hibari crouched and watched from under the table cloth edge.

"You know how important this is," Said the first man, his voice was gruff and Hibari recognized it as belonging to the father of the bride from when he gave his toast. "If you mess this up…"

"I know! I know." The other man insisted.

"We should go back and mingle. My daughter seems to be looking for me," Hibari watched as their feet moved away from the corner and back towards the throng. Carefully he crawled out from under the table and standing up was face to face with Mukuro. He narrowed his eyes.

"What do you want?" He spat disdainfully.

"Nothing." Mukuro said with a smile on his face. "Just wondering if you're going to save Cavallone or not…"

"Fuck off." He said. He wanted to haul back and hit him where he stood, but he had had to give up his weapons earlier and this was not the place to start a fight.

"Ku fu fu fu fu." He laughed strangely. "Just let me know what you decide on doing." He faded away and left Chrome standing in front of him looking lost.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Mafia Games. :)

I will be out of town next weekend. I'm going to a convention in St. Louis! So, depending on a lot of factors I may not be able to update on-time. So I may either update late next week or I'll post two chapters the weekend after next. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!

Reviews and critiques are always welcome. :)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Hibari couldn't believe what he was doing. He had slipped away just before the party had ended and was at the hotel that Dino and Victoria were due to arrive at any moment. He knew which room was theirs as it had to be the biggest most disgustingly ostentatious room available. He didn't have a key, and anyway it wouldn't due to have someone spot him trying to enter Cavallone's honeymoon suite. He found a way up the side of the building and onto the balcony. Someone had left the door ajar and he let himself into the room. At first glance nothing seemed out of place.

He went through the drawers and the closets. As it was a multi-room suite it took some time. He mentally cursed and wished that he at least had some idea what he was looking for. He finally made it into the bedroom. On a table someone had placed a bottle of Champagne and a dozen chocolate covered strawberries. His heart sank. Was this what they had been talking about? Maybe his Italian wasn't as good as he thought it was.

He heard the click of a key card sliding into the door lock, and looking around in a slight panic spotted a closet. He opened the door and found someone had stocked it with clothing for the happy couple to last the entire week. Pushing his way in he pulled the door closed behind him as the door to the bedroom opened. There were slats in the door so Hibari could see out in strange horizontal lines, but they could not see him. He had a decent view of the table and bed, but that was it. He watched as Dino held the door open for Victoria, who entered looking a little upset.

"I told you I'm not going to carry you over the threshold." Dino said he sounded slightly annoyed. "I'd brain you against the door frame."

She sighed. "It's all right." She spotted the champagne. She lifted a card from the tray and opened it. "Oh it's from Papa!"

"Is it poisoned?" Dino asked warily taking off his jacket and loosening the cuffs of his dress shirt. Victoria laughed a sweet lilting laugh that put Hibari in mind of sunny days and beautiful meadows. The more he found out about her the more he disliked her. She seemed too perfect._ She probably walks on water and volunteers at soup kitchens feeding the poor. _

"Dear?" She said cautiously.

"Hn?" Dino said with a mouthful of strawberry.

"I hope your mother won't mind but I invited some of the girls from the soup kitchen to the party tomorrow night." She said uneasily. Hibari rolled his eyes. _Figures. She's just perfect for Dino. _The thought made him sick.

"She probably will, but it'll be ok. If I need to run interference I will." Dino stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

Hibari felt his heart stop. Oh… no… He knew what was going to happen next. There was no way he could escape. He was trapped. If he tried to move in the closet, the coats and shirts that were wrapped around him would make noises and he'd be discovered and that was the worst thing he could possibly imagine at this point; which is to say, only marginally worse than what was happening in front of him at that very second.

He watched Dino disrobe and was for a moment, fixated with staring at Dino's naked body. He couldn't help but feel jealousy burn through him as he watched Victoria touch him. Her hands moved over his skin and there was nothing Hibari could do about it, it was agony. He noticed that Dino was gentler with her than he was with him; for some reason that hurt too. He treated her like she might crumble to pieces at the slightest movement. _This is so sick._ He thought to himself he tried closing his eyes but that made it worse as all he could hear were Victoria's loud moaning, and his imagination supplied the rest. He opened his eyes again and realized they had moved closer to the closet where he was hiding. Panic fluttered in his stomach.

He saw Dino pick her up and they disappeared from sight. Hibari relaxed a little until he realized Dino had pressed her against the wall next to the closet door. The thumping penetrated the closet, the clothes doing little to dampen the noise. Hibari had thought Victoria was loud before, now she was deafening. Her moans turned into screams calling on god and Dino. Finally, after what felt like hours to Hibari her screams trailed off and he heard Dino whisper. "oh Kyo-ah!" Kerthunk.

"I'm sorry Victoria my arm cramped up!" Dino said. Hibari assumed he must have dropped her.

"That's all right." He heard her get up. "That was amazing." She purred.

"I do what I can" Dino said softly. He picked her up, and Hibari watched him carry her over to the bed and lay her down. She smiled up at him and kissed him. "I'll be right back." He left towards the bathroom and disappeared. The lock clicked loudly into place. Victoria got up and moved to the dresser from which she extracted a night gown. After putting it on she got back into bed under the covers. The sounds of water running came from the bathroom. Dino must be taking a shower. Hibari waited for a few agonizing moments. She seemed to have fallen asleep. Hibari held his breath. This could be his chance. Carefully he eased open the door and silently slipped out of the room.

A moment later Dino stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist for the sake of modesty. He silently left the room and walked out onto the balcony and watched as Hibari made is way silently into the night. Dino smiled to himself. It was nice when you're right.

* * *

_God I'm an idiot._ Kyouya Hibari thought as he lay alone in bed staring up at the ceiling. He had never really given much thought to the idea of god. He figured he must exist, and if Hibari left him alone he would leave Hibari alone. Dino was obsessed with the idea. They hadn't talked about it much, except occasionally after a particularly amazing round of sex. (Hibari had always thought of them as rounds, as though they were in some sort of a competition.) There would be silence as they lay still; wrapped in each others' arms too tired to move. Then Dino would give a long sigh and mumble something about confession and how Father What's-his-name (Hibari never really paid much attention to what Dino said after sex, usually being too tired, and in some cases, depending on how generous Dino was feeling, too trussed up to care) would kill him especially after the lengthy talk they had had about the sins of the flesh.

Right then laying there staring at the ceiling Hibari felt there must be a God. A vengeful God. He must be punishing them for being a, _how was it that Dino's priest had put it…_a crime against nature. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been. He closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep. But… Had he heard it? He was sure that Dino had almost said his name during sex. He had covered quickly, but he had heard it. On the other hand… He could have wanted some sign that Dino wasn't completely enjoying Victoria so badly that he imagined him saying his name… He rolled onto his side. And saw Mukuro sitting in the chair next to his bed.

"Had a hard night Hibari?" Mukuro asked smiling.

"Get out of my room." Hibari growled, sitting up in bed. His hand groped for his tonfas and found that they had been moved. Hibari wished he had had the presence of mind to put on his pajamas rather than slipping into bed in just his boxers.

"Oh come on, Hibari, I know you're feeling lonely." In one swift movement Mukuro was straddling Hibari's lap pressing him into the headboard. Hibari swung his fist around to catch Mukuro in the side of the face, but the other man managed to grab his wrists and hold them against the head board.

"Get off of me." Hibari spat. "I'm going to bite you to death."

"If it makes you feel better I can be someone else…" His appearance suddenly changed to a shirtless Dino. Hibari couldn't help it; he felt his heart skip a beat. "But, I'm not going to do anything to you." Dino said with Mukuro's voice. "I just wanted to remind you that you're alone. Everyone else here is with someone. Ryohei with Lussuria, Sawada with me, Gokudera with Yamamoto, etc and so on… I think you should know … you are going to be alone forever. You were lucky enough to find the one person in the world who would put up with your pathetic personality. But now… You're damaged goods. The only person you've ever trusted or even allowed to get close to you has betrayed you." Dino's large brown eyes stared into his. Mukuro leaned forward, Dino's lips hovering millimeters away from Hibari's ear. He continued in a whisper. "And now any chance you had at being anything other than the pathetic unlovable creature you are is gone… forever." As he spoke his last words he faded away leaving Hibari staring at the ceiling again. He rolled over onto his stomach and tried to pretend he couldn't feel. _God, I miss Dino. _

_

* * *

_

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critics are always welcome. :)

Sorry about the late update. The convention was a lot of fun. There were a lot of things I would have changed, but I went with a large group of friends and any excuse to hang out and cosplay is good to me.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Hibari awoke late the next day. He hadn't slept well. Mukuro's words kept echoing throughout his head and he had dreamed of Dino with Mukuro's voice. He felt wretched. The last thing he wanted to admit was that Mukuro had affected him in anyway, but he kept going over his words over and over again. Yamamoto and Gokudera? He supposed that made sense. Their constant bickering may be their way of expressing sexual tension. Normally he wouldn't care, but he found himself focusing on that mundane and unimportant fact to block out the rest of what Mukuro had said. He got out of bed and looked at himself in the mirror. He had large purple bags under his eyes and he was so pale he looked like death warmed over… assuming death was a short Japanese man.

He thought about getting dressed and heading out for something to eat. But then he would run into people and be forced to talk to them, or at least acknowledge they exist. He looked back at his bed. Food and human contact or he could go back to bed and sleep the rest of the day… He went back to bed.

* * *

Ryohei Sasagawa awoke. It was his third day in Italy and he was ready for the next party. He looked down at Lussuria who was cuddled up to him using his chest as a pillow. He smiled and ran his fingers through his Italian's soft hair and his smile widened. It had been an EXTREME trip so far. Lussuria had hardly left his side…. And they had had some…. EXXXTREME… moments in each other's company. Last night had been one of those instances, he had had no idea that Lussuria could bend that way… or that he himself could for that matter.

He thought about the party last night and frowned slightly. Despite having a Kyokugen time, there had been a conspicuous absence from the festivities. Hibari hadn't been there. Dino had sidled up to him half way through the party and had asked him where Kyouya had been. When Ryohei had told him he didn't know Dino had nodded sadly, like he suspected as much. As Ryohei was, as far as he knew, the only one of the Vongola family to know of Dino and Hibari's relationship (he had walked in on the two of them during one of their more… inventive… moments) Ryohei had taken it upon himself and promised Dino that he would get Hibari to come to the next day's party. Now that it was the next day, and he was sober, the task seemed a lot less possible. BUT! He had promised… Despite not having been asked to by Dino. Even so, a promise is a promise and Ryohei was nothing if not a man of his word.

He glanced at the clock. He felt his eyes bug out of his head a little. It was noon. He had missed the entire morning! Ryohei was usually a very early riser, preferring to run several miles before day break.

"Lus!" He said urgently. "Wake up! It's noon!" Lussuria ignored him and just snuggled closer. "Lus!"

"What?" He yawned; he began tracing a finger over Ryohei's abs and around his belly button.

"It's extremely noon!" He hissed ignoring Lus's finger.

"That early?" Lussuria moaned closing his eyes again.

"Get. Up." Ryohei commanded to no avail. "You are so lazy to the EXTREME!" Lussuria slid his hand under the sheets. Suddenly Ryohei remembered he was on vacation and could afford to take it easy, and maybe spend a little bit more time in bed with Lussuria...

Ryohei stepped out of the shower and grabbed one of the big fluffy towels that had been provided for all of the guests in the guest house. He glanced at the bathroom clock and internally groaned: 3 O'clock. He had to get ready for the party and talk Hibari into attending. He stepped out of the bathroom and saw that Lussuria had laid out his clothes for him. Lussuria had an odd habit of insisting on dressing him whenever he visited. Usually it wasn't bad although Ryohei drew the line at pink, sea-quince, and feathers. He dressed hurriedly and ran out the door to find Hibari's room.

He didn't know where his friend was staying, he figured it was late enough in the day he could just push open doors and eventually he'd find the right one. He moved down the hallway and past the room next to his, he already knew Lussuria was staying there.

Ryohei forcefully opened the next door, letting it bang against the wall. Tsuna was sitting in the chair with his back to the door. Ryohei gave an internal sigh of relief. Until he saw that Tsuna wasn't getting up to greet him because he was tied to the chair and had on no pants. Mukuro stood up into Ryohei's line of sight.

"What do you want?" Mukuro asked.

"Um…. I've forgotten to the EXTREME!" Ryohei exclaimed backing into the hallway. _That was disturbing to the EXTREME!_ He thought as he reached the last door before the stairs.

The next door he came to he pushed open, no one. He opened the next door and found Gokudera and Yamamoto. Yamamoto had his hands on either side of Gokudera's face and was kissing him passionately. Gokudera for his part had his hands up Yamamoto's shirt. They were too preoccupied and didn't notice the intrusion. He quietly shut the door and ran on down the hallway.

He knocked and then immediately opened the door. Romario and Kusakabe were sitting on the bed, both shirtless. _Thank god!_ Ryohei thought _At least they weren't having sex too!_

"Hey! Kusakabe! Do you know where Hibari's room is?" He asked.

Kusakabe looked at Romario who had gone a delicate shade of pink and then back at Ryohei's hopeful expression and sighed. "Yes. I'll take you there if you want," He got up "Don't. Move." He said pushing Romario's shoulder. He looked for his shirt and found it on the floor at the end of the bed. Ryohei watched as he buttoned it up and handed him a tie he had picked up off the floor by the door. They left the room as Kusakabe finished straightening his tie.

"Why do you want to talk to Kyo?" Kusakabe asked. They spoke in Japanese as they walked through the building, as Ryohei's Italian wasn't good. Lussuria had been teaching him, but his vocabulary mostly consisted of dirty words. They walked up a flight of stairs and passed a door that was slightly ajar. From inside they could hear voices yelling. Kusakabe stopped in his tracks and Ryohei bumped into him.

"The proof is right here!" they heard a woman yell. "How can you dispute it?"

"It's a recording! You could have faked it," A man yelled back. Kusakabe put a finger over his mouth to let Ryohei know not to say anything and the two of them peaked in through the crack between the door and the frame. Ryohei didn't recognize either of them. Kusakabe's eyes widened with shock. He recognized both of them: Dino's mother and his new father-in-law.

"You have your own recordings!" She spat.

"Your son is a fag. There's no way!" He was turning redder. "Unless they consummate the marriage it isn't final!"

"They have! You shouldn't back out on your part of the deal." She hissed. "You shouldn't be trying to dispute the legitimacy of this marriage, as it was the only way to make your grandchildren legitimate. You should be glad that your daughter is no longer branded a whore." He picked up a lamp and hurled it at her head. She didn't move, not even a millimeter, as it sailed past her ear and smashed against the wall. "Now, as you are a new part of this family, I will warn you that no one behaves in that manner in my presence. You will soon learn proper respect or you will soon learn how to breathe water."

Dino's father-in-law clenched his fists. "I don't need you,"

"Don't be silly. Yes you do. Together we are now the second richest and most influential family. Alone you were…" She waved her hand around in the air as though to dismiss an annoying butterfly. "A pest. You need to understand that now MY family owns all your assets and resources. YOU will be answering to ME. Your debts, such as they were, have been taken care of by MY family. As long as Dino and your daughter are alive and this marriage is binding, YOU have NO say in what we do. You are ALLOWED to have control over your direct family. Don't make me take what little power you have left away from you. Your only hope now is that Dino will have enough pity on you to let you keep what you think you have."

Kusakabe nudged Ryohei and made a motion for them to move away from the door. They made it halfway down the hallway before either of them spoke.

"I don't think I understood all of that…" Ryohei said.

"I did," Kusakabe said quietly. "Don't worry about it, I doubt it was important." Ryohei shrugged, it didn't seem to concern him so he wasn't worried. He'd caught their tone and a few words like family, Dino, grandchildren, but the general thread of the conversation was lost to him. "This is it," Kusakabe knocked quietly on the door.

"Move ASIDE!" Ryohei said and barged into Hibari's room. At first he thought no one was inside. Kusakabe turned on the light and they were able to make out a mound in the middle of the bed covered by blankets.

"Kyo?" Kusakabe ventured. There was no reply. Dread creeped slowly up his spine raising the hairs on the back of his neck. _Oh. God. I hope we didn't wake him up. _ He took a step backwards towards the door. Ryohei ignored him and walked up to the bed, grabbed onto the blankets and pulled them off of the bed. Hibari had been curled into a ball sleeping soundly. He did not appreciate the abrupt way Ryohei had decided to wake him. He uncurled slowly, bringing to mind a swap creature rising from a lagoon, and turned to glare at Sasagawa for _daring_ to enter his room without permission.

"I'm going to bite you to death," He hissed. He reached for his tonfas and to Kusakabe and Ryohei's relief they weren't there. Hibari frowned and looked around he still hadn't figured out where Mukuro had hidden them.

"Hibari! You need to get up! You're wasting the day to the EXTREME!" Ryohei yelled, he had issues with volume control. Sometimes the Vongola would send him out first to scout dangerous areas, because he was so loud everyone would focus on him and not notice the rest of them sneaking up behind. Hibari yawned.

"Go away Herbivore," He said grabbing back the blankets and covering up again.

"You need to come to the party tonight. It's going to be here on the grounds, so you won't have to travel!" Ryohei pitched this, hoping it would help the situation.

"No." Hibari's muffled voice came from under a pile of blankets. "Go. Away."

"Since Dino didn't get a bachelor's party we're going to make him spend most of the time with us, away from the misses…" Ryohei tried to be clever, it would have been better if he stuck with what he was good at. Hibari didn't even dignify that with a response, he hoped that if he ignored him long enough Ryohei would forget why he was there and wander away.

Kusakabe sighed. He hated to do this. He leaned over and whispered something in Ryohei's ear so that Hibari couldn't hear him.

Ryohei smiled. "Well, I guess we'll just have to bring the party in here then! It'll be cramped to the EXTREME! But, it'll be a lot more fun with EVERYBODY together!" They could see the mass of blankets twitch at the thought. Kusakabe was an evil genius, taking advantage of Hibari's extreme dislike for crowds, and making him choose between staying in bed in a small room full of people who would be noisy and bother him, or a large room full of people who would be noisy and bother him, but with the added advantage of being properly clothed and possibly a corner he could lurk in. They watched him do the math.

"I'll be there. Now, GET OUT!" He said. Ryohei and Kusakabe didn't have to be told a third time.

* * *

A/N: For everyone not familiar with American slang: Fag = extremely derogatory name for a gay man.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critics are always welcome. :)


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Hibari stepped out of his room dressed in a black suit and tie with a dark purple dress shirt. Dino had bought it for him, unfortunately he didn't have anything appropriate to wear that Dino hadn't bought him. He was late. He was late on purpose; his pride demanded some kind of compensation for giving in to attending this stupid party. He made his way down to the garden and immediately found a waiter walking around with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. He hadn't eaten in over a day. He snagged a few and ate them hurriedly.

"You're here!" Ryohei yelled. Startled Hibari spun on his heels and came face to face with him. "Come on!" He grabbed Hibari's arm and dragged the young man to a table in the far corner away from most of the festivities. Hibari wrenched his arm out of Ryohei's grip and took a seat as far away from the party as possible. Within seconds someone had put Dino in the chair next to him and the table was full. There was Lussuria, Ryohei, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Tsuna, Squalo, and Xanxus. Lussuria placed a shot glass in front of everyone and filled each with a clear liquid.

"Oh! Come on guys!" Dino said loudly. "I've done really well not to get wasted at these parties!"

"Stop whining!" Lussuria said. "You never got a bachelor's party so we're doing it now! And we're playing a game. It's the 'I've never game'. Basically you say something you've never done and if someone at the table has done it that person has to take a shot!"

"Hey, I've got to see to the guests!" Dino said starting to get up. Lussuria pushed him back down in his chair.

"Your wife'll take care of it. Don't worry!" Lussuria assured him.

"We're drinking." Hibari said. He stared at the full shot in front of him. He had never drunk alcohol before. He was only 19 and the drinking age in Japan is 20. "I'm not of age."

"The drinking age is lower in Italy," Xanxus said.

"You'll be fine!" Lussuria said. "Now who'll start? He looked around the table. Well, Dino, it's your party!"

Dino thought for a moment. "I've never…" He glanced at Hibari who was still staring at the shot. "Used 'I'll bite you to death' as a threat." Everyone laughed, except for Xanxus who smirked slightly. Then in unison everyone turned to stare at Hibari. Hibari picked up the shot.

"Drink it all in one go."Lussuria said helpfully. Hibari put the glass to his lips and tipped it back. "Open your throat like you're giving a blow job." Hibari sputtered and began to choke on it, Lussuria howled with laughter. Dino smacked Hibari on the back. The liquid burned its way down his throat and landed heavily in his stomach.

"My turn!" Ryohei said. "I've never gotten a woman pregnant."

Dino shot him a look. He was the only father at the table. He drank his shot. "Damn Lus! Cheap Vodka?" Someone sputtered across from him and he looked up to see Squalo had drunk too. "Squalo?"

"I found out at yesterday's party…" Squalo didn't look at Xanxus. "Remember high school? Apparently right before I joined the Varia, I got Rosa pregnant."

"And you just found out about this." Xanxus said quietly. Everyone was staring at him dumbfounded.

"Voi! She thought I'd died ok?" He yelled turning red.

Lussuria grinned and refilled the empty glasses. "My turn!" He sang. "I've never had sex with only one person."

"Wait… what?" Yamamoto said looking confused. "You mean at a time?"

"But you have…" Ryohei said looking hurt.

"I meant. If you've only ever had sex with one person in your life you should drink." Lussuria said exasperatedly.

"Oh."

Hibari and Ryohei drank. Hibari didn't like how the vodka burned down his throat. It took all his will power not to cough like the others. He was already feeling light headed. Hard liquor combined with no food did not agree with him.

"I've never had sex with more than 5 people in my life." Gokudera said.

Dino, Xanxus, Squalo, and Lussuria all drank. For some reason Hibari found he was resting his hand on Dino's knee under the table.

"I've never had sex with more than 10 people in my life." Yamamoto said cheerfully.

The same four drank again. The rest of the group stared at them.

"I've never had sex with more than 15 people in my life." Tsuna said.

Xanxus dropped out. The other three drank. Dino placed his hand nonchalantly on Hibari's hand.

"I've never had sex with more than 20 women in my life." Squalo said grinning at Dino.

"Damn it Squalo!" Dino drank alone. They all stared at him. "What?"

"Damn Dino… You're a slut." Lussuria said. "Did you have an affair?"

"No. I was faithful to my wife. Thank you very much." Dino said haughtily. Five shots plus the glasses of wine he had already had, and he was definitely feeling the effects.

"So…" Tsuna looked around the table and finally voiced what everyone was wondering. "How many women have you… um?"

Dino had to think about it. There had been 3 after Carmen had died and before her… He did some quick drunken mental arithmetic. "I'm thinking maybe 25 or 35ish?" Dino secretly played with Hibari's fingers.

"You don't remember!" Lussuria howled. "You are a slut!"

"So you had sex with more than 20 women and were faithful to your wife?" Gokudera said in astonishment.

"He was a player in high school." Squalo smirked he was feeling the effects of the vodka too.

"I was rich, handsome, and a smooth talker." Dino grinned. Hibari removed his hand from Dino's knee and clenched his fists under the table. He hadn't known anything about Dino's previous conquests. The knowledge that he was possibly the 36th person to share Dino's bed did not make him feel as privileged as he once did.

"But dead clumsy!" Squalo said laughing raucously.

"My turn," Xanxus said suddenly. "I've never had sex with my boss." He suddenly felt the need to remind Squalo who he was sleeping with now.

Squalo shot Xanxus a look and drank. Gokudera tried to inconspicuously drink while trying to avoid looking at Yamamoto. Not noticing that Yamamoto was doing the same thing.

"I don't think you can say that one!" Lussuria said.

"Why not?" Xanxus growled. "I am the boss."

"Exactly!" Lussuria said. "I'm sure you've masturbated! That's as close to having sex with yourself as you can get!" Everyone paused for a moment to consider this drunken logic. Tsuna being the only one who wasn't drunk was a little confused but didn't say anything.

"Fine. I've never…" He thought for a moment. "Had sex where either whips or handcuffs were involved."

Hibari reached for his glass, his cheeks burning with embarrassment, he felt sure that this admission was akin to broadcasting to the world that he had had sex with Dino. But EVERYONE at the table drank their shot. As the drink settled in his stomach he felt very warm inside and his face felt numb. He reached up and touched his nose to make sure it was still there. He put his hands back in his lap. He frowned; his hand was back on Dino's knee. Well, not his knee so much as his thigh. He spread his fingers and brushed his pinky against Dino's crotch. He felt Dino's hand on his and frowned as he moved Hibari's hand back to his knee.

"Ivenevr." He had trouble framing the words properly. They wanted to pile up on top of each other in his mouth. He cleared his throat and grabbed onto the table to keep it from moving. "I have never had sex with a sports fanatic," He carefully pronounced each word fully.

Lussuria drank. Tsuna and Gokudera both drank.

"I knew it!" Lussuria shrieked. "Goku and Yama!" The two of them turned bright red.

Hibari grabbed Dino's hand. "I need to talk to you." He said suddenly. He got up from the table swaying slightly. Dino followed only marginally steadier on his feet. Hibari led him away from the table.

"Did Hibari just grab Dino's hand?" Lussuria said as they watched the two of them depart.

"um… Yeah I think… He did." Tsuna said a little lost for words.

"Are they…?"Squalo asked leaning forward conspiratorially.

"No… They can't be..." Tsuna said carefully. "I mean… It's Hibari…"

"Every man has needs." Lussuria said with the air of an expert on the subject.

Ryohei said nothing. He had promised not to tell and was secretly dreading being asked his opinion. He shifted his gaze from the conversation and glanced to his left.

"Hey! Where did Gokudera and Yamamoto go?" He blurted out.

Lussuria smiled widely. "Well, I think the smaller group size calls for a different game! Let's see how much Tsuna can drink before he vomits!"

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critics are always welcome. :)


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

"Hey! Yamamoto!" Gokudera said as Yamamoto led him away from the group. "Is this really necessary?"

Yamamoto pulled him around to the back of the garden, where it was deserted.

"Hayato, I told you when we're alone, call me by my given name." Yamamoto said with a large grin.

Gokudera blushed, but continued on like he hadn't spoken. "It's embarrassing enough that they know now! Leaving early, we might as well have shouted we are going to have sex."

"But… Hayato… We are going to have sex." Yamamoto said wrapping his arms around him.

"Baseball-Idiot! You're ridiculous!" He was going to say more, but Yamamoto cut him off with a kiss.

"Hayato?" Yamamoto said.

"What idiot?"

"Shut up," Yamamoto grinned hugely. "This'll be fun." He pulled Gokudera into another kiss; his hands moving under the other man's shirt.

"Takeshi…" Gokudera whispered as Yamamoto kissed down his neck, he could feel him smile against his skin. He closed his eyes, enjoying the moment. They were interrupted by a rustling in the bushes next to them. Immediately they both crouched down and moved silently to positions on either side of the origin of the noise. They made eye contact and realizing that Yamamoto was in the better position Gokudera signaled a command with a look. Yamamoto nodded and carefully peered through a hole in the foliage.

He squatted back down and with a series of hand signals communicated that there were 2 men standing there, both apparently armed. Gokudera signed the question "friend or foe". Yamamoto shrugged, he didn't know. They both tensed as they heard someone else approach. Yamamoto risked another look through the hole.

"How much longer?" One of the original men asked the new comer. He was not dressed like the other two. He was wearing a suit and looked as though he had just detached himself from the party. Yamamoto shot Gokudera a questioning look. He was speaking in Italian, and his grasp of the language was even more tenuous than Ryohei's. Gokudera rolled his eyes, thinking back on the many lessons he had tried to give the other man.

"Not too much longer." He said looking down at his Rolex. "Is everyone in place?"

"Yes boss," the other two said in unison.

"Good. Wait for the signal." He turned to go. "Oh. And if you get the chance kick him a few times for me." With that he left.

Yamamoto gave Gokudera another questioning look. Gokudera frowned. This was bad.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome. :)

Sorry about it being so short this week.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Hibari was leading Dino away from the rest of the party. Out of the corner of his eye, Dino saw Romario talking with Kusakabe in a private corner. Their eyes met and when Romario made to walk over towards him he motioned to him to stay where he was. They finally stopped when they reached a more remote area of the garden. Hibari turned to face him and was suddenly lost for words. He grabbed the front of Dino's suite jacket to steady himself.

"I miss you," Hibari said suddenly after an awkward moment of silence. He let go of Dino.

"Kyouya. I think that's the Vodka talking." Dino said smiling. He couldn't help but find drunk-Kyouya entertaining.

"No!" He insisted. "I miss you already and I don't…" He felt himself tipping to the left slightly and reached out and grabbed Dino's shoulder for balance.

"Kyouya. You're drunk." Dino grinned.

"Stop it! You're not talking me serisly!" Hibari grabbed onto Dino's head and forced him to look him in the eye. "Don't leave me like this…I… love you."

Dino was speechless. This was the first time Hibari had ever said _it_. Dino had always known how he felt, but Hibari was not the type to tell anyone about his feelings, he acted as though he expected everyone to read his mind. Dino felt all those emotions he had been suppressing bubble up to fill him and he wanted nothing more than to take Hibari right there and then in front of God and everyone. Before his thoughts could be put into action they were interrupted by his mother.

She had spotted them with her ever watchful eye and had made the most polite bee line towards them that was physically possible. She got there in time to hear Hibari's confession. She fixed the man with a glare that would have pealed paint.

"Dino!" She exclaimed. "You should be with your WIFE." She grabbed Dino's arm and before his drunken brain could form a sentence he was led away back into the crowd. His mother was walking so quickly Dino was having a hard time keeping up. She had an iron grip on his arm pulling him along beside her, Dino in turn had grabbed Hibari's arm and was leading him along as well. She found Victoria and pushed him so that he would stand next to her. He tripped over his foot and would have fallen, but Romario materialized out of nowhere and steadied him.

"Thanks Romario." Dino smiled. "You're the BEST!" Romario patted him on the shoulder in the mildly condescending fashion that all subordinates adopt when they know their boss is drunk.

"Dino! Is your little party done already?" Victoria asked with a broad smile.

"It is now dear." Dino said leaning slightly on Romario.

"Dino! I'm glad I found you!" A man said from behind him. Dino turned to find the head of his church, Father Peter.

"Father!" Dino said happily still relying on Romario for support. "I hope you forgive me. I'm quite drunk."

"Been hitting the wine I see." Father Peter said with a knowing grin.

"Not so much hitting the wine, as being clobbered by the vodka." Dino said seriously. "Oh! Where are my manners?" He grabbed Hibari's sleeve and kept him from walking off with Kusakabe. "Let me introduce you. Father this is Kyouya Hibari, Vongola family member."

"Pleasure to meet you," Father Peter said reaching out to shake Hibari's hand. Kusakabe moved Hibari's arm forward like a puppet and they shook.

Dino couldn't help himself. He put an arm around the priest and whispered in his ear. "This is the one I was telling you about." Unfortunately his whisper, though having the raspy quality of a whisper did not have the lower volume component.

The priest looked confused for a second and he suddenly realized what Dino had meant, and the many conversations he had had with Dino during confession suddenly danced across his mind. Father Peter didn't bother to take notice of Kusakabe and Romario; he wasn't the kind of person to notice subordinates, so he didn't spot the horrified looks on their faces. He glanced at Victoria. She had been talking to Dino's mother and hadn't been listening to the men. The expression on her face changed from a smile to a look of horror. She looked over at Dino who still had his hand on Hibari's arm.

"Um… How are you enjoying the party Mr. Hibari?" Father Peter asked awkwardly.

Hibari didn't say anything. He stared malevolently at the priest.

"He's finding the party delightful." Dino said diplomatically. Kusakabe exchanged a glance with Romario. The ladies were speaking more urgently, and Dino still hadn't let go of Hibari's arm. Romario whispered something to Dino and was promptly ignored.

"Does he speak Italian?" Father Peter asked Dino. Romario grabbed two glasses off of a passing tray and handed them both to Dino. He let go of Hibari.

"I speak Italian." Hibari said careful to enunciate each word clearly. "I just try to avoid speaking to idi…" He didn't get to finish his sentence.

"He's just not used to speaking to people he is not already familiar with." Kusakabe invented hurriedly, interrupting him as tactfully as possible. "Japanese shyness. Please excuse us." Kusakabe took Hibari by the arm and led him out of the crowd. He was surprised at how little resistance he received from Hibari. Romario stepped forward and took the glasses back from Dino and set them on another passing tray.

"Well…" Father Peter turned back to Dino. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I just wanted to tell you congratulations again. And thank you for the substantial donation to the church."

Dino grinned hugely. "No need to thank me father, just doing my Christian duty."

Victoria stepped forward and put a hand on Dino's arm. "I'm sorry Father, I need to talk to my husband a moment," Father Peter smiled indulgently at her and stepped aside. Victoria gave him a polite smile in return and led Dino away from the crowd towards a secluded part of the garden.

"Is it true what your mother told me?" She demanded suddenly, as soon as she was sure they were alone.

"What did she tell you about Kyouya and me?" Dino asked wearily. He leaned against a pillar for support.

"So it is true! That you... That you're… gay." She said avoiding eye contact.

Dino wished he was sober. "I wouldn't put it that way, no." He thought the sentence over. Completely true, he had never thought of himself as gay, just attracted to Kyouya who just happened to be a man. It was his personality that he found irresistible... Well… Mostly his personality, there were other things about him that he was partial to. Now that he thought about it, that must make him bi-sexual; but this still would not label him as gay.

"But, you've… had sex with… Him." She shot a look over at Hibari.

Dino sighed. Despite being intoxicated he knew what she needed. He stepped carefully forward and put his arms around her. He put a finger under her chin and tilted her head so that he looked her in the eyes. "Victoria. You are my wife." He kissed her softly, and touched his forehead to hers. "You are my one and only." He whispered. She sighed and he felt her relax into a hug. She leaned her head against him; he kissed her on the top of the head. "Besides, I would think from the last couple nights that I would have proven my… orientation." He felt her smile into his shoulder. He internally rolled his eyes._ Women were so easy… Kyouya… He's a challenge. He would have seen right through me. _He glanced over to where Hibari stood with Kusakabe at the edge of the crowd. His face was completely red and he was swaying slightly. Occasionally Kusakabe would put an arm out to stop him falling over. Dino watched Romario walk over to him and whisper something in his ear. Kusakabe nodded and took hold of Hibari's upper arm and steered him toward the house.

"So…" Victoria mumbled into his shoulder. "What was it like?"

"What was what?" Dino said wrenching himself away from thoughts of Kyouya.

"Having sex with a man…" She said.

"Oh." Dino blinked. "um…. Well, I would think you would already know. I mean you've had sex with men. More than I have… It's pretty similar to what we do."

"What do you mean by that?" She said stepping back looking offended.

Dino gave her a confused look. The small part of his brain not clouded by Vodka ran into overdrive. He reviewed his last sentence in his head and made a fatal mistake. He laughed. She scowled.

"I didn't mean…" Dino could've kicked himself. "I mean… It's… Not that much different than with you." She looked, if it were possible, even more offended. He groaned. "That came out wrong." He sighed. "I meant." He tried to carefully review the sentence so as not to make this situation any worse. "I meant. That I was the… dominate one." He prayed to God that Kyouya would never find out that he told.

She looked surprised. "You mean… You topped? He seemed so… crude. I assumed…"

It was Dino's turn to be offended. "You thought…" Dino never got to finish his sentence.

Gun fire cut through the warm night air. A group of several men completely in black ran into the crowd causing panic. Dino's men ran toward them returning fire, trying to protect the guests. The crowd scattered in panic. Dino grabbed hold of Victoria holding her close to him as people pushed past them. He tipped over a stone bench and pulled her down behind it for cover against the intruders' continuing random fire. Sheltering behind the bench he pulled out a gun from his jacket pocket. Victoria stared at it in horror.

"Why do you have a gun?" She demanded.

Dino ignored her and tried to steady himself against the bench so that he could aim. Sober this would have been nothing, but he didn't completely trust himself after consuming such quantities of liquor. When he had a very clear shot he tightened his finger on the trigger. He was able to get off one shot before there was an excruciating pain in his back. He went to turn around and someone kicked him in the back again pushing him forward and grinding his face into the edge of the stone bench. There was a sharp pain on the back of his head and everything went black.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critics are always welcome. :) Sorry for the late posting!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Drip… drip… drip… "Why am I in my own dungeons?" He asked to the pitch-black cell. His head hurt. He gingerly felt the back of his head and felt his hair was matted with blood. He winced as his fingers felt the cut. He reached out again and felt the cold bars in front of him. He felt along them for the door. It was open. That was odd. Who would put someone in a dungeon and not bother to lock the door? The darkness began to lighten as a circle of light appeared on the floor casting ominous shadows around the corridor. Romario appeared holding a flashlight. He pointed it into the cell and Dino had to shield his eyes from the sudden bright light.

"Thank God Boss. You're awake." Romario said, the relief coming off of him was so powerful it almost knocked Dino over. "I just came down to check on you."

"Why am I here?" Dino asked. Waving an arm to take in the dungeon setting.

"We had to put you somewhere safe." Romario explained putting an arm around Dino's shoulders to help him limp out of the cell. "I carried out your orders to see to the guests' safety first. The doctors we called in have finished seeing the guests and we've managed to get everyone home safely."

"At the risk of sounding selfish… You couldn't have given me a blanket or a pillow?" Dino was feeling particularly irritable, he did not remember injuring his leg.

"Sorry Boss." Romario cleared his throat. "Also, I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough. I got to you as quickly as I could Boss, but… The guys who knocked you out got in a few kicks before escaping…"

"Ah… So no actual prisoners then." Dino sighed. "And my wife?"

"She's been taken."

"Any demands yet?"

"Yes, Boss." Romario began

Dino cut him off. "No! Let me guess… They want me to step down as head of the Cavallone family?"

"Correct." Romario said without inflection.

Dino smiled. "You know Romario… I love it when I'm right."

"Yes, Boss, I know."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome. :) Sorry it's so short!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Dino sat on the edge of a table while a doctor prodded him.

"Well well well, mysterious injuries AGAIN! Master Dino," The Doctor chortled as he examined him.

"Not so mysterious this time Doc." Dino sighed.

"At least no strange bite marks," The doctor said. "Last time I saw you I could have sworn you were mauled by an animal!"

Dino blushed slightly and glanced self-consciously at Romario who was still standing in the room. Romario was very obviously failing at attempting to look like he was legitimately trying not to smirk. "Yes, well… It wasn't that bad." He cleared his throat. "So, can I go now?"

"You'll want to stay off that leg for awhile. No strenuous activity." The doctor said putting away his instruments. "No more fights with wild animals." He winked.

"I doubt that'll happen for awhile. Anyways," Dino muttered glumly.

"I'll be right back I have some pain killers that may help with your head in my car." The doctor left.

"So we have no hostages…" Dino mused aloud, once the doctor was gone. "How were the demands delivered?"

"A note was left next to where I found you." Romario said pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and handing it to Dino. He took it and examined it carefully. It read: If you want to see your wife again you'll step down as head of the Cavallone family by noon tomorrow.

"Typed, plain computer paper…." Dino sighed. "This is not very helpful. I'm guessing you already looked for finger prints?"

"none," he said simply. The door opened the doctor stepped back inside.

"Take one every 24 hours and you should be feeling much better." He handed over a bottle to Dino.

"Thanks Doc," Dino got up from the table. The doctor smiled and saying good bye left.

"What about the man I shot?"

"His friends grabbed him and they got away." Romario grimaced.

Dino sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Are the allied bosses still here?" Romario nodded. "Call a meeting, we need to get to the bottom of this."

* * *

It was late. A few hours had passed since the disturbance, and the kidnapping of Victoria Cavallone was still an unconfirmed rumor spreading like wildfire through the remaining guests. The heads of the allied families and some of their subordinates were milling around the parlor. However, Gokudera was pacing in the hall outside of the room, while Yamamoto was sitting placidly in a chair next to the door.

"We should tell someone…" Gokudera said lighting another cigarette with the butt of the one he just finished.

"Should we wait until he wakes up?" Yamamoto said his eyes following Gokudera's progress back and forth.

"I just heard someone say that Dino's wife was taken…" Gokudera said.

"Why don't we tell Tsuna?" Yamamoto suggested. "That way he can make the decision."

Gokudera stopped and stared at Yamamoto. He felt he should have thought of that. Not bothering to acknowledge Yamamoto, he pushed open the doors and stepped inside the room.

"Tenth!" He called. Half the room turned to look at him. "Um… Vongola tenth." Everyone turned back, but Tsuna. He stepped forward and followed Gokudera outside the room.

"What is it Gokudera?" He asked worriedly.

"You doing ok?" Gokudera asked (for the seventh time since the attack) while scanning the corridor for eavesdroppers.

"I'm fine." He glanced over at Yamamoto who had gotten up from his chair. They led him a little ways down the hall.

"We caught one of the attackers." Gokudera said.

"What?" Tsuna exclaimed, but Yamamoto shushed him quickly.

"We're not sure if his friends are still around, so we don't want to advertise it." Yamamoto said. "He's tied up in our… er… my bathroom, unconscious."

Tsuna nodded. He still wasn't very good at politics, but he had progressed remarkably in the last three years. During that time he had received training from Reborn and advice from Dino, which was making him a better strategic thinker.

"Are you sure he won't escape?"

They both nodded. "We left Sasagawa to guard him." Gokudera said. Tsuna nodded, Ryohei had the right mind-set for a guard, constantly in a state of alertness.

"We'll leave him there for now." Tsuna decided. "They've called a meeting so I want both of you there."

* * *

All the Bosses in the alliance were seated around an oval table with their right hand men stationed in chairs lining the wall. Silence fell when the door swung open and Dino walked in assisted by a black cane. Everyone stood at his entrance, as was customary for the hosting mafia leader. He made his way to his seat at the head of the table, and carefully sat down. Everyone retook their seats.

Dino surveyed the group gravely. "I would like to apologize for what happened at the party and express my relief that you and your families are all safe and unharmed." Dino paused as everyone around the table nodded in acknowledgment. "I am sure by now that you have all heard that my wife has been taken." A quiet murmuring around the edges of the room greeted this pronouncement. "Has anyone come across any information that would be of assistance in our search for her?" No one said anything. A few shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

Tsuna spoke up. "As the tenth boss of the Vongola I would like to…" He trailed off and looked around at the blank faces of almost everyone in the room. He realized he had been speaking in Japanese. He flushed slightly and switching to Italian continued. "I would like to give Cavallone a…" He stopped, he didn't know the word. He cast his mind around and settled on "present that may help in his search. My men have captured… someone… that may be useful. I can have my men take you to him."

Gokudera and Yamamoto stood up.

Dino nodded to Romario. The two of them led him out of the room.

"Cavallone, I would like to inquire as to what demands have been made for your wife's safe return," the boss of the Yelcheni family said leaning forward slightly. He was a newer member, one that had been inherited with the marriage. He was tall and skinny and liked to slick his greasy black hair over his head to try to cover an ever increasing bald spot. Dino studied him for a moment. Whenever he talked he made him want to take a shower.

"As of now, no demands have been made." He said seriously. "We're awaiting contact."

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critics are always welcome. :) Sorry for the late posting!

A/N2: So… This is the beginning of the second half of the story. Or at least that's how I see it in my mind. It's going to focus a lot more on Dino, so I hope you enjoy it.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

As Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Romario made their way down the hallway, Kusakabe stepped out of his room.

"What's going on?" He asked intercepting them at the door to Yamamoto's room.

"There was a fight and Victoria's been kidnapped." Romario supplied.

"Wait here a moment Romario," Gokudera said. "We need to talk to Sasagawa before we let the guy out." Gokudera and Yamamoto entered the room leaving the two men alone in the hallway.

Kusakabe took a step closer to him. "Are you ok?" He reached out a worried hand and touched his face.

"I'm fine. I'm surprised you didn't hear the gun fire."

"ah… um.. Well…" Kusakabe looked away. "He'll kill me if he finds out I told you, but I've been with Kyouya for the last few hours… he's been puking his guts out. He only passed out a little while ago. I came back down here to change my shoes…"

Romario gave him a sympathetic look and gripped his shoulder. "Our work is never done."

Kusakabe nodded glumly. "He's going to be so pissed that he missed out on a fight."

"You can come in now."

Romario and Kusakabe entered the room. Passing Yamamoto and Sasagawa, they followed Gokudera into the bathroom. It was large with a walk in shower. The man was still unconscious and had been handcuffed to the toilet. Romario looked around the room. Yamamoto had already removed all his personal effects, which was just as good. Romario didn't want to risk moving him for interrogation. He silently left reentered the bedroom and grabbed a chair from the desk at the side of the room and carried it into the shower. He went back to look under the sink and found a pair of pliers.

"keys?" He asked. Gokudera handed him the keys to the handcuffs and he unlocked them, with Kusakabe's help they moved him onto the chair. He secured him to it making sure each arm was carefully tied to the arm-rests. He took the man's skiicap off of him and with his phone took a picture of his face and sent it to Dino. He returned the cap to his head, back to front covering his entire face. Romario removed his jacket and tie, and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. "You may not want to be present for this." He said it like he meant it to the room at large but his eyes focused on Kusakabe.

"I'm staying." Gokudera and Kusakabe said.

Romario nodded and handed Kusakabe the pair of pliers. "Of course, as right hand men you'll need to develop your own style." and turned on the cold water. The man awoke sputtering and coughing. Romario turned off the water. It took the man a moment to realize the circumstances in which he awoke. He couldn't see, he was cold and wet, and he was tied to a chair. Usually when people find themselves in this sort of situation there are two main reactions. They can either sit as still as possible waiting for the other shoe to drop; or they scream, panic, and wet themselves. This man chose the latter course of action. Romario waited patiently for the man to stop screaming. When his patience ran out he turned the water back on. When he stopped the water and the man did not continue screaming, he felt it was safe to start.

"Now, What's your name?" He said.

"I'm not telling you anything." The man whimpered.

Romario sighed. "Kind of a mouthful. 'I'm not telling you anything' What do your friends call you?"

The man sat their silently quivering. Romario punched the man in the face sending his chair careening into the wall.

"Alex!" The man screamed. Romario grabbed the chair and pulled it back into the center of the shower.

"See that wasn't so hard," Romario said. He squatted down so that he was close to the man's face. Romario knew that even though he couldn't see him the proximity would intimidate him. "Here are the rules, Alex. I will ask you a question. You will answer it truthfully. If you don't answer me I will hit you until you do. If you lie to me I will remove a fingernail." He paused for a moment to let it sink in. "When" He stressed the word. "you run out of fingernails I start to remove… other… body parts." Another pause. "There are a couple ways this could go. You could tell me what I need to know, truthfully, and you can walk away… or you can lie to me and with hold information and you can be carried out in pieces. It's really your choice." He watched the man think this over. "So… What is it going to be?" The man was silent, still considering. Romario swung and hit the man again, feeling his nose break against his knuckles and knocking his chair over, blood began to run from his face and pool on the shower floor.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" The man sobbed.

"Who are you working for?" Romario asked righting his chair.

"I don't know." He cried.

"I don't believe you," Romario said sadly. He looked over at Kusakabe, who handed him the pair of pliers. "Which one…" he moved to the Alex's right hand still tied to the arm rest. He touched the pliers to each finger muttering "Eenie meenie minie moe" under his breath. He settled on the pinky and slowly ripped the nail off of the man's finger to the accompaniment of his screams. He let the man stop screaming before asking him again. "Who are you working for?"

"D…Dino Cavallone." He said.

"Wrong again." Romario ripped the nail off of his left pinky.

The man sobbed even more, blood pouring from his face and hands. "That's what he said his name was. But… I've heard of Cavallone 10th and my employer was too old."

"What did he look like," Romario demanded.

"Mid to late fifties, tall, fit for an older guy…. Um… Had a nice watch."

Romario rolled his eyes. That described most of the higher-ups in the mafia.

Romario opened his mouth to say something and stopped, Kusakabe tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and Kusakabe nodded towards the door. Dino stood there leaning against the frame. "As a reward we'll take a small break." Romario stepped out of the bathroom and shut the door leaving Kusakabe and Gokudera in there to watch Alex sob.

"What is it boss?" Romario asked.

Dino glanced at Ryohei and Yamamoto. He lowered his voice and replied in rapid Italian. "Is it who I think it is?"

"He didn't say specifically." He said quietly. Yamamoto and Ryohei gave them funny looks. "He doesn't know his name."

"Judging by the reactions of the new members I think I know who it is." Dino said quietly. "But, go ahead and continue, you can never be too certain. Ask him… to tell us where they were to take her and how he met his employer."

Dino followed Romario back into the bathroom. He took up a position next to Gokudera by the door as Romario stepped back into the roomy shower.

"So Alex, How are you feeling?" Romario said squatting in front of him again.

"I'm… um…" He hesitated. Romario stood up. Alex panicked at the noise of movement. "Please don't hit me!"

"What do you do for a living?" Romario asked leaning against a wall.

"I… I'm a messenger usually. This was my first… Serious assignment." He muttered.

"And you got caught. That's gotta suck." Romario said.

"Yeah." Alex laughed nervously.

"So where did they tell you to take her?" Romario stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder and applied a slight pressure causing Alex to wince, a reminder, he didn't want him to get too comfortable.

"A warehouse… just outside of town. " He said. "It's just south down the main road and take a right at Via Vervio, it's number 66."

"So, tell me how you met this man," Romario said, letting go and stepping back.

"I… I would run messages between families… I met this guy who knows people he said I needed to be a part of something big to get noticed… He's the one who introduced me to be part of the team. That's where I met the old guy saying he's Cavallone…"

"Well, Alex, you've been noticed. How do you like it now?" Romario sighed. "So what did he say your mission was?"

"To get the girl and to beat on the blond guy if we got the chance."Alex seemed to relax a little.

Dino caught Romario's eye and signed him a question. Romario nodded and turned back to Alex.

"Who introduced you to the old guy?" Romario asked.

"Ah…. I really can't tell you." Alex whimpered. "He'll kill me."

Romario grabbed him by the back of the chair and threw him so that his head bounced off the floor.

"You think I won't?" Romario demanded kicking his chair so that he slid across the slick shower floor and slammed against the wall.

"You don't understand!" Alex screamed. "He's everywhere!"

"He is not here!" Romario growled. "So you're going to have to make a choice. Is this man, who is not present, more frightening to you, than me?"

" Just a sec!" He pleaded.

"No!" Romario slammed his foot down hard on Alex's chest, cracking ribs. He slowly applied pressure forcing the air out of him. Alex fought against his bonds, he finally whispered.

"I… I'll tell you,"

Romario removed his foot and righted the chair.

"I usually run messages for the Yelcheni family, but this guy is creepy. He's different doesn't really have a strong alliance. He deals in information I think. They call him snake…"

"What's his real name?" Romario asked..

"I… I don't know." Alex whined.

"Really?" Romario grabbed the pliers and began to pull the nail off of Alex's right ring-finger. "Care to try again?"

"Oh God! Please stop!" He sobs grew louder, he was drawing painful breaths expanding his lungs against cracked ribs. "I think it's Jude Rivello or something like that..."

Romario couldn't believe it. It couldn't be… "Describe him." Romario commanded.

"I dunno. An old guy… more in his 40s. Brown hair average build. Clean shaven… wears a strong cologne." Alex coughed loudly and spat out blood, part of which oozed through the knit of the ski cap still covering his face, the rest joined the stream dripping down his chin. "I only saw his actual face once, usually he hides it."

"Where do you usually meet him?" Romario asked.

"On the corner by that Irish Pub and the pastry shop… Corner of Via Brinzio and Via Dosolo," He thought about it a moment and realized this may not be specific enough. "You know a couple blocks from that catholic church. The big one."

Romario didn't move. This… was eerily familiar. He glanced at Dino, who had paled slightly. This was unexpected. He could see the gears turning in his head, recalculating everything. No wonder providing this information made Alex a dead man walking. It was toxic.

Kusakabe and Gokudera looked confused. They didn't seem to understand the significance of this knowledge. It seemed so vague to them.

"His real name you said it was Jude Rivello… How did you find out?"

"I dunno I heard it once, but it was kinda muffled, it may have been something else…"

Romario nodded.

Dino had to steady himself against the wall. This couldn't. There was no way. It was sickening. Romario didn't move. He looked over at Dino. The silence stretched. Kusakabe and Gokudera shifted uncomfortably not sure whether or not to break the silence.

"Hello?" Alex said after awhile. "Am… Am I going to live?"

Dino nodded to Romario and he turned back to Alex. "Yes," He signed something to Dino who nodded. "However, I think we're going to have to figure out what to do with you."

Silently Dino, Gokudera, Kusakabe, and Romario left the room.

"Boss…" Romario said when they were all in the bedroom with the doors shut and locked.

"Whose room is this?" Dino interrupted.

"Mine." Yamamoto said stepping away from the wall.

"Is it secure?" Dino asked.

Yamamoto looked confused. Romario sighed with exasperation.

"I don't know boss." Romario said. "I didn't think to check…"

Dino nodded and pulled a device out of his pocket. He examined it for a moment and then hit a button. Nothing happened. Dino put it back in his pocket looking satisfied. "Continue."

Romario sighed. "Boss… This is really bad… If he's telling the truth…"

"We need to focus on my wife." Dino said. "We can deal with the other information later…. At least this explains a lot of what's been going on… I just never wanted to think that it was _him_."

"What is going on?" Gokudera demanded.

"Let's just say that the phrase no one is above suspicion has never been more significant than now." Dino murmured. He paused for a moment deep in thought then suddenly snapped back to reality. "Gokudera, Did you see anything when you captured Alex?"

Yamamoto spoke instead. "I did. We saw some men talking before the attack. Alex was one of the men we overheard."

"Was there anyone there who looked like they were in charge?" Dino inquired.

"Yeah." Gokudera and Yamamoto exchanged a look. "He was dressed in a suit, older guy."

"Was this him?" Dino pulled up a picture on his phone and showed it to Yamamoto.

"Yes! Who is that?"

"A guest at the party." Dino said contemplatively. He had the evidence he needed to strike. Now what he needed was a plan. "I think what we need is daylight." He looked around at their haggard faces. "Everyone get some sleep."

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome. :) Sorry for the late posting!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

"Ryohei. Romario." Dino said as everyone started to go about their business. "I need you to come with me."

"What is it boss?" Romario said.

"I want to do a little recognizance. Will you come with me? It shouldn't take long."

"I don't understand to the EXTREME!" Ryohei said.

"I want to find out some stuff." Dino simplified impatiently, not wanting to bother with an hour long explanation over the definition of recognizance.

"What about Alex?" Romario said as they followed Dino down the hallway.

"Takeshi and Hayato will watch him for now, when we get back we'll find a new place for him," Dino said mildly.

They followed him out of the guest house and into an adjacent garage. There were only a couple black cars parked there.

"Romario do you mind driving?" Dino asked tossing him a set of keys.

"Sure boss." Romario slid behind the wheel as Dino clumsily climbed into the front passenger seat, Ryohei took a position in the back. Romario pushed a button on the remote fixed to the center console and the door to the garage began to roll open.

"Where are we going to the EXTREME?" Ryohei asked.

Dino and Romario winced at the loud voice in the confined space of the car. "Seriously Ryohei, we're right next to you! You don't need to shout!"

"I'm EXTREMELY sorry!" Ryohei said, volume unchanged.

"We're going to the place that Alex specified." Romario said pulling out of the smoothly out of the garage.

They road in silence, or at least what passed for silence with Ryohei in the same vehicle. It wasn't that he was intentionally loud, he was just very enthusiastic about everything that came across his mind.

"Just a little farther down this road then take a right." Dino instructed Romario.

"I know where we're going boss."

"Sorry," Dino said a little sheepishly.

They pulled to a stop in an alley way behind the line of warehouses.

"Come on." Dino said getting out of the car.

"Boss… Don't you think you should wait here?" Romario said a little worriedly.

"I'll be fine, besides it should be empty by now." Dino smiled. "Since I'm sure they know we've got Alex, they'll have evacuated." He set off towards the warehouse number 66.

"Then why are we here?" Romario said falling in step beside him.

"They may have left something behind…"

Ryohei was silent. He didn't understand. He followed them to the warehouse. The double doors were chained shut. Dino leaned against the wall helpfully holding a flashlight for Romario while he worked at the lock. Ryohei shifted his weight from foot to foot. He wasn't good at this sneaking around. He wanted action. The lock opened in Romario's hands and with a soft clinking noise the chain fell to the ground. Romario pulled out his gun and with his flashlight held parallel to the barrel, he nodded at Dino who opened the door for him. He peered inside cautiously. He entered and a moment later reappeared.

"It's all clear."

"Thanks,"

Dino and Ryohei entered, it was completely dark.

"I'M EXTREMELY BLIND!" Ryohei yelled.

"Hold on I think I found a light switch!" Dino called.

Dino flipped the switch and after everyone was momentarily blinded by the bright light, they were able to properly take in their surroundings. It was a small office. There wasn't anything spectacular in there. A desk, some filing cabinets, and at the back of the room was a thick metal door. Romario examined the lock expertly.

"It's no good boss."

"Ryohei?" Dino said turning to him.

"YEAH?"

"Would you please open the door for us?"

"FINALLY! I WAS GETTING BORED TO THE EXTREME!" Ryohei took a step back and focused his energy into his arm and thrust forward. His powerful punch blew the door off of its hinges, and with a crash it fell to the floor. They entered the room stepping over the remnants of the door.

"IT'S FREEZING TO THE EXTREME!" Ryohei flipped the light switch on the wall next to the door.

"Oh my god…" Romario said. Dino made the sign of the cross.

"THIS IS SICK!" Ryohei was stunned. Suspended in the refrigerated warehouse were rows and rows of hanging corpses.

The warehouse wasn't very big, but the effect was somewhat intensified by the rows being wider than deep, only about four spaces back. Still, it was horrifying. They walked among the rows. All together there may have been twenty… twenty-five people hanging suspended on meat hooks. They were having problems determining the number of people as not all the corpses were complete. Half of a person would be on one hook and then a few rows down they found the other half, or a quarter, or maybe just the head. Dino made his way through the rows examining every face he could find. He paused by the corpse of a slender woman with auburn hair for a moment, before moving on down the row.

"It looks like they've been experimenting on people" Romario said solemnly.

"Or making examples of them…" Dino said stopping at one corpse. This one still had the head attached and most limbs. "I know this person…."

"Who is it boss?

"A… A friend, Edmond. He went missing two weeks ago. He was doing some investigating for me into…" Dino stopped. He noticed a stack of crates in the back corners of the warehouse. He tried to push them out of the way. They wouldn't budge. "Ryohei, Romario… would you help me move these?" The two men came over and working together they unsuccessfully tried to move them. Veins popped out on their foreheads as they strained to pull the crates out of the way. They did not move an inch.

"What do you think is in them?" Romario said panting. Dino examined the middle crate. It looked as though a nail was loose in the corner… He reached out and pulled on the side of the crate, it swung open like a door revealing a safe. "Romario. I want inside that safe."

Romario walked over to it and examined it. "I'm sorry boss I don't know if I can…"

"Please try," Dino said. Romario nodded. The lock wasn't particularly complicated for a safe, it was a heavy-duty combination lock, he had dealt with worse, but he hadn't brought any of his tools with him. He did what he could. While he worked Dino went back to the front office.

"What are you doing?" Ryohei asked following him.

"Looking for something…" Dino began opening drawers. Ryohei stood there bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet and watched him. This entire situation was making him edgy. Dino sifted through all of the drawers and filing cabinets and found a lot of candy wrappers, fast-food trash, porno magazines, a few newspapers, and a bible.

"Let's see how Romario is doing." Dino and Ryohei walked back into the refrigerated room. "How's it going?" Romario looked at him hopelessly.

"I'm sorry boss…"

"Try…. 6, 6, 6." Dino said.

"Boss?"

"I have an idea about this and I want to see if I'm right."

Romario tried the combination. Nothing.

"How about… 3, 10, 12," Nothing.

"2,5,12," Nothing.

Dino opened the bible and thumbed through a few pages. "Try… 18, 2, 6"

"Boss… Pulling numbers out of your ass isn't going to get us anywhere." Romario said.

Dino ignored him and continued flipping through pages.. "Try 26, 1, 5." Nothing

"14, 1, 2" Still Nothing.

Dino sighed. "22, 3, 6." Romario dutifully turned the dial and with a loud click the door swung open.

"Don't get smug," Romario said shining his flashlight inside the safe.

"What's in there?" Dino said grinning hugely. He and Ryohei peered into the safe behind Romario. There were several stacks of small boxes filling the inside of the safe. Romario pulled one out and opened it to find that they were filled with note-cards. Dino clapped Ryohei and Romario on the shoulders. "Come on let's grab these and go."

They gathered up all the boxes and made their way back to the car. As they drove back to the Cavallone Estate Dino explored the contents.

"Hey Ryohei! You're in here!" Dino said pulling out a card.

"WHAT?"

"It looks like these are notes on important mafia members." Dino squinted at the tiny writing on the card. "Very detailed notes… Ryohei… I could have gone my entire life and NOT known this about you and Lussuria."

"WHAT IS IT?" Ryohei grabbed the card. He turned extremely red. "THAT'S… THAT'S EXTREMELY NOT…."

"I mean… I knew that Lussuria likes to dress you… I just didn't think you'd agree to something like THAT." Dino continued pulling the card out of Ryohei's hands and putting it back in the box.

"IT WAS ONLY ONE TIME!" Ryohei couldn't believe that anyone had found out.

"I'm sure it was…"Dino continued going through the cards. "I'm sure little Bo-Peep is a very popular role play." Romario snorted with laughter. "Ooo here's a picture!" He showed it to Romario. Who nearly crashed the car into a tree. Swerving he managed to correct their course and stay on the road.

"B…Boss… How did they…" Romario tried to concentrate on the road.

"WHAT IS IT NOW?" Ryohei demanded. He grabbed the picture. "HEY! THAT'S YOU AND KUSAKABE, EXTREMELY …!"He stopped abruptly and rotated the picture. "IS THAT POSSIBLE?"

"Apparently so. It looks like it was not as secret as you thought, Romario." Dino took the picture back and re-filed it. "It looks like Alex gave us the wrong location. I doubt they were planning on taking Victoria there… But… I think that what we found is much more significant."

"But, how are we going to find her now?"

"Well… I will just have to sort through some paperwork…"Dino sighed. He had a long night ahead of him. "When we get back would you sort out Alex please?"

"Sure thing Boss…" Romario cleared his throat slightly. "What about those cards?"

"Oh… I have a safe place for them. Don't worry."

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome. :)


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Romario's apartment was a ten minute drive from the Cavallone estate. He had a room in the guest house he would sometimes use when he had been working late, but he preferred the autonomy of his apartment. He had thought about purchasing a house, but being a bachelor he felt like he would be consumed by the empty space. It wasn't that he didn't have enough money. Dino paid him very well, he had enough money to buy several houses in every country in the world, instead he had set up an endowment to fund libraries and scholarships for literature students (Dino encouraged all his employees to donate to charity). The apartment was comfortable. It was a separation from his work life.

He sat alone on his couch in nothing but his pajama pants, hair still damp from the shower, holding half a glass of bourbon. He stared gloomily at his drink. It bothered him how little the events of the day bothered him. After a while all the scenes of carnage run together in the mind and become less atrocious, the uncommon becomes commonplace. It made him feel his age. He was feeling old anyways, he had noticed another grey hair in the mirror and it brought home to him how young most of his peers were. How young Tetsuya was.

They had moved Alex to a secure location. Romario had personally chosen the guards. He still wasn't completely sure what the final plan for Alex was, but Romario had faith that Dino had a plan… Dino always had a plan. He hadn't fought to bring his family to the second spot in the hierarchy without a plan. He thought back to when Dino was a kid and smiled. Romario had been working for Dino's father; at that point he had been 3 people away from being the right hand man and had been chosen to guard the heir… Dino… Dino had always been clever and devious. He had found ways around his clumsiness, but he had been naïve and a little whiny. Reborn had thankfully knocked that out of him. He was young, successful, and had a wonderful family…

Romario swirled the liquid in his glass contemplatively. He had spent his entire life working for the Cavallone family. He had started out as a messenger just like Alex, and had worked his way up through blood (mostly other people's), sweat, and tears. The Cavallone family had always been good to him. They even paid for him to go through some medical training, enough where he could attend to broken bones and other wounds often suffered after huge battles or rather what Dino liked to call 'scuffles'. He had thought about marriage a few times, but work was always more important than relationships, and that was often enough to put an end to it. And now what?

There was a light knock at the door. Romario sighed and got up. He opened the door to find Tetsuya Kusakabe standing there with a bottle of bourbon; an angel of mercy.

"I thought you might want some," Kusakabe said stepping inside. Romario thanked him and took the bottle into the kitchen. Kusakabe stood alone in the living room and surveyed the apartment. Little had changed since he had last been there, a few months ago. It was still tastefully decorated and uncluttered. A few pictures were hung on the wall featuring scenes from Romario's life. He walked over to one. It presented a much younger Romario standing next to the Cavallone 9th and an adolescent Dino.

"That picture is a little over 10 years old." Romario said coming up behind him. Kusakabe started slightly and turned around. Romario smiled and handed him a glass.

"You've been over thinking things again haven't you?" Kusakabe said taking a sip from his glass.

Romario laughed. "What makes you think that?"

Kusakabe stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Romario, engulfing him in his warmth. "Because I know you." He whispered. Romario closed his eyes and rested his head on Kusakabe's shoulder. They stood like that for a moment in silence. Finally Romario straightened up and took a step back.

"Did you want to talk about something?" Romario asked taking a seat on the couch.

"Actually I did…" Kusakabe said taking a seat next to him. "I've been thinking too…" Kusakabe cleared his throat.

Romario felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. He knew this was a long time coming. They had been together for nearly 3 years and he knew that one day Kusakabe would realize that 22years age difference was too much. He knew that when he had turned forty it must have been a wakeup call, if anything he was surprised that their relationship lasted until now, a few short weeks before his forty first birthday. Dating someone in their late thirties was completely different than dating someone in their early forties. Romario took a large drink from his glass, bracing himself.

"I've been thinking… I think it's the right time… I mean since you're forty now…" He stopped and stared at his glass. "I want to start a family."

"Oh," Romario took another drink, if for nothing than to give himself something to do. He knew it, this was the end.

Kusakabe seemed to review what he just said in his mind then added. "With you."

Romario sputtered. "What?"

"I'm not sure how you want to go about it; there are a lot of options. And I know it'll be difficult since we live in different countries…" Kusakabe stopped and looked over at Romario. "Are you ok?"

"Tetsu… I" Romario stared at him, dumbfounded. He knew Kusakabe as a patient, methodical, detail-oriented, thorough person, and he must have put a lot of thought into this before saying anything. "What brought this on?"

"Well… I've been thinking about it for a while… And I know you've always wanted a family. So, I thought why not with me?" Kusakabe cleared his throat. "I was thinking invitro fertilization would be best. I think we could talk my sister into carrying it. That way it would still essentially be both of our DNA."

Romario blinked. "You want me to have a baby with your sister." He said bluntly.

"You would rather adopt?"

"Tetsu! I'm so old! And does she even know about you and me? Do your parents?"

"So? I still love you." He leaned forward seriously. "I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else, and yes they do. Well… Sonoko does."

Romario felt like the idea that Kusakabe was trying to convey to him was square, and the space in his head that it needed to fit into was round. Romario didn't know how to communicate what he was thinking. He tried anyways. "This is a big decision. Don't you think we should think about this?"

"I have been." Kusakabe said simply. "You haven't?"

"Well, I can't say it's never crossed my mind, but…" Romario looked into Kusakabe's dark brown eyes, and his protests died on his lips. "I think it's a great idea."

Kusakabe smiled and kissed him. "I'm glad you think so."

"But first we need to figure out a more regular meeting schedule," Romario said, still feeling slightly confused.

"But, first," Kusakabe took the glass out of Romario's hand and put both of their glasses on the end table. "Let's celebrate." He pushed Romario back into the couch.

They had somehow made it to the bed, leaving a trail of clothes in their wake. Romario pressed his naked body against Kusakabe's, kissing him passionately. He could feel the adrenaline rush through his veins as Kusakabe wrapped his legs around his waist and flipped him onto his back. He bit into Romario's neck causing the older man to exhale sharply. Kusakabe smiled, it was always a challenge to get any noises out of him. Tetsuya gasped as Romario roughly grabbed his hips and moved him forward on top of him. Grabbing the base of his cock with his hand he moved his head forward and ran his tongue over its tip. He fit it into his mouth and languidly sucked. Kusakabe found that he was leaning forward forcing himself deeper into Romario's mouth, savoring the sensation.

"Hang on a sec." Kusakabe's voice shook slightly, through sheer force of will he managed to extricate himself from Romario long enough to turn around. He was on his elbows and knees over him; he took Romario's cock into his mouth and relishing in the resulting soft moan, sucked. Romario returned the favor. With each suck he ran his tongue over the tip, tasting him. Nearing the edge of ecstasy Romario was forced to stop his ministrations. The feeling of Kusakabe's tongue against his hard flesh as he took him deep into his throat pushed him over. With a shuddering gasp Romario came. Kusakabe, swallowing, turned around. He smiled at Romario and trailed kisses up his chest. He could feel his hard cock throb at the thought of what he was going to do next.

Kusakabe grinned and reaching out behind him found and pulled open the drawer on Romario's nightstand removing a large tube. Romario, taking his cue, rolled over onto his hands and knees into Kusakabe's favorite position. Applying a copious of amounts of lubricant to his fingers he gently inserted one, then another, finger into him. He enjoyed feeling Romario react to his fingers as he moved them inside of him. He removed his fingers and taking hold of his hips Tetsuya entered him. He inhaled sharply as Romario's muscles contracted around him. He pushed slowly deeper savoring the sensation. He pulled back so as only his tip was still inside and thrust forward again. Romario let out a soft moan as Kusakabe reached around him and began to stroke his painfully hard cock. He did it again moving in and out. He began increasing speed until finally in one glorious moment they both came…

An hour later Romario was laying in bed, with Kusakabe sleeping next to him, staring at the ceiling. _I guess I'm going to get my family after all._ He smiled.

* * *

A/N: Wow that was a lot of Romario and Tetsuya and no Dino or Kyouya….Sorry about that…. I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games anyways… I promise Dino will be in the next chapter! Reviews and critiques are always welcome. :) Sorry for the late posting!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Dino's normally neat office was a mess. To the untrained eye it looked as though papers had been piled in heaps and scattered all over the floor of the office. Dino eventually had to push his desk to one side to make more floor space. He sat in the middle of this chaos surrounded by a circle of leaning stacks of paper. The piles and scattered mess must have meant something to him, because as he picked up a new piece of paper and read it, he would crawl across the floor and place it in the appropriate location, and then adjust the piles surrounding it. He picked up a piece of paper from one of his piles in the middle. He read over it and smiled. This was it. He had found the last one. He had called and woken people up, he had threatened, cajoled, demanded and had gotten every piece of paper he could get his hands on concerning mafia property holdings. And now finally, he had the last address.

There was a soft knock at the door. He gave it a puzzled look. Who could it be? He had sent Romario home, he didn't want to over work the man and he had been working on additional assignments for him that were not exactly work related. If Romario had known that he would still be working this late into the night, he would have wanted to stay and help, but Dino knew his friend needed some time to unwind. Especially, since Tetsuya was in town.

"Don't open the door!" Dino shouted. Not wanting his carefully arranged stacks disturbed. "Who is it?"

An illusion of Mukuro entered through the wall. "You look busy."

"Mukuro, I don't have time here!" Dino's normal polite demeanor was routed through his tired brain and resulted in the sharp retort.

"Well… are you sure it's necessary to keep up this pretense?" Mukuro almost purred as he walked through the piles on the floor, not moving a single piece of paper.

"What?" Dino was at a loss. He had lost his focus and was searching for the paper he had just had in his hand. He had set it down just a moment ago….

"You know… you have everything you want." Mukuro said now sitting on the desk. "You have more power now, fame, family glory…. With that pesky wife of yours out of the way you can even have Kyouya back now."

"Don't call him that." Dino said sharply. He found his paper and was now looking for the accompanying documents.

"Oh… Feeling a little possessive are we?" Mukuro smirked. "Well, _Kyouya_ and I had a little chat in his room the other night. I must admit neither of us was wearing much…" He let his sentence hang in the air. His smirk widened into a smile at the sight of Dino's jaw muscles visibly tightening, even if it was only for a moment.

"You're not going to get a rise out of me Mukuro." Dino said calmly, visibly forcing himself to relax.

"Well, let's just say that Kyouya didn't do much talking."

"I would think that your little games with Tsuna would have put a damper on your Kyouya obsession." Dino said stolidly.

"I find Tsuna… amusing." Mukuro said. "I find Kyouya fascinating. Similar to how onlookers find train wrecks fascinating."

"I gathered that when I saw you watching us…" Dino said. His mind wandered back to the moment when he had just pulled out of his lover, letting Kyouya collapse in an exhausted heap on the bed, he had smiled as he watched him bury his face in the pillow. A strange movement caught Dino's attention out of the corner of his eye and he had looked up from the soft pale skin of Kyouya's back to see Mukuro's image fading into the background of the room.

"hn." Mukuro shrugged. "I was curious where Kyouya was going to so often. I didn't realize it was your bed."

"You're a sick voyeur that's what you are," Dino said. He returned his mind to his paperwork, trying not to think about the nights where he would suddenly wake up, Kyouya still snuggled in his arms, to the feeling that someone was watching them.

"I'm still stuck in prison… I have to get my entertainment somehow…" Mukuro said easily waving away this accusation. "Besides, it's given me another way to torture Kyouya…" Mukuro shifted his position on the desk slightly. "Do you think, that a drunk, sleepy Kyouya would be able to resist it if some tall, handsome blond came into his room for comfort? Hypothetically speaking of course… Do you think he'd be able to distinguish an illusion from the real thing?" He said innocently, letting the question hang in the air.

Dino focused on his paperwork, trying to push Mukuro's words from his mind. He tried not to imagine what Mukuro was insinuating.

Mukuro slipped off the desk and crouched down next to Dino and whispered in his ear. "Why are you working so hard? What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find my wife!" Dino said definitively.

"Why?"

Dino said nothing, fastidiously sorting through papers.

Mukuro stood up and leaned against the wall. " If you just let her be you can have everything you want. You could have Kyouya…"

Dino ignored him.

"It's not like you even love her…."

Dino's resolve broke. "Because she's mine!" Dino stood up ignoring the shooting pain in his leg and before he realized what he was doing he was shouting in his face. "She belongs to the Cavallone family. She is my responsibility! She is the mother of two of my children and I will not have my family broken again! If I can save even two of my children from the heart break of losing a mother I will." He stopped for a moment and regained his composure. "So are you happy? Now you know. Now. Get. Out."

"Ku fu fu fu fu," Mukuro laughed. "You are so high and mighty…. I wonder what Kyouya would think of your asinine nonsense." The illusion of him faded into the wall.

Dino gritted his teeth. He hated everything about Mukuro. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he limped over to the phone on his desk and dialed the number of one of his subordinates. He told him to meet him as soon as physically possible at the entrance. Putting the phone back in its cradle, he ended the call. He gathered up the papers he would need, with the help of his cane he carefully stepped around the piles and left his office.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

"Takeshi…" Gokudera savored the sound of the name. He loved saying his name, he would never put it into so many words and tell Yamamoto this, but calling him by his given name filled him with a deep un-nameable satisfaction. But… something was bothering him. He tightened his grip on Yamamoto's hair.

"hm?" Yamamoto said, continuing to nibble on his lover's ear.

"S…Stop it." Gokudera demanded unconvincingly. Yamamoto ignored him and kissed down his neck to the collar of his shirt. They had just left Alex in his new location. They had insisted on taking the first watch while Romario's chosen guards were rounded up or woken up so as to take their positions. They needed to return to the guest house and their beds, but the dark and quiet foyer had presented a not-to-be missed opportunity for Yamamoto. He kissed Gokudera forcefully, pushing him against the wall. His fingers tangled themselves in his soft hair his other arm wrapped securely around his waist holding him against him.

"Hey Yamamoto…" Gokudera would still use his sir name in an effort not to seem too attached.

"Hayato. It's Takeshi," Yamamoto whispered in his ear. He began unbuttoning Gokudera's shirt.

"Stop it!" Gokudera said. He pushed Yamamoto's hands away and began to re-button his shirt. "Takeshi… I need to talk to you about something."

"Now?" Yamamoto said slightly incredulously. He pulled Gokudera to him, pushing their hips together, letting him feel the state he was in, making a point as to what Gokudera would be missing.

"Yes now!" Gokudera pushed him away. "Did you have sex with the tenth?"

"What? Tsuna?" Yamamoto was incredulous.

"No. Dino." Gokudera said sarcastically.

"I've never done anything…!"

"Of course I meant Tsuna!" Gokudera said hurriedly interrupting him.

"W…why?" Yamamoto tried not to meet his gaze.

"Because you lied to me." Gokudera gritted his teeth. "You said I was your first."

"Well… You were… Are… my first," Yamamoto said still examining the top button on Gokudera's shirt.

"So then… you cheated on me with the tenth?" Gokudera could barely force the words out. He was stunned. He couldn't believe it.

"No!" Yamamoto said. He grabbed the sides of Gokudera's face and made him look him in the eye. "I didn't cheat." He took a deep breath. "After you and I… the first time…. We agreed never to do it again. Remember?"

Gokudera nodded. He could hardly move his head in Yamamoto's grip.

"You said it was a mistake and to act like it never happened. So, I tried."

"That's it? So you went and fucked someone else?" Gokudera pushed him in the chest forcing him to take a couple steps backwards.

Yamamoto was stunned. He took a tentative step forward. He reached out with a slightly shaking hand and pushed a strand of hair out of Gokudera's face. "Hayato… I…" Yamamoto didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to tell him that he and Tsuna had gone to each other for advice. That in a moment of weakness on both their parts… That it had been a onetime mistake. He opened his mouth to try to put his thoughts into words, when he heard footsteps behind him. There was a strange skittering noise and a loud thunk.

"Damn it!"

"That was Cavallone." Gokudera whispered. They moved from their secluded corner to hide behind one of the pillars flanking the door. In the middle of the floor lay Dino flat on his back staring up at the ceiling. His cane was several feet away from him.

"Dino? Are you ok?" Yamamoto said stepping out before Gokudera could stop him.

"Oh. Takeshi." Dino didn't move. "I'm fine. I just felt like laying here for a bit."

"Let me help you up." Yamamoto picked up Dino's cane and walked over to him. He held out his hand and Dino grabbed it managed to pull himself to his feet.

"What are you still doing here?" Dino asked dusting himself off. "I thought you'd be back at the guest house by now."

"Well… Hayato and I were helping with the guard changes." Yamamoto said motioning to Gokudera who was leaning against the pillar lighting a cigarette. "We were just… taking a break."

"And you were just… 'taking a break' over in the corner?" Dino asked, failing to stop a grin from spreading across his face.

"Nosey bastard." Gokudera grumbled.

"I must ask that you refrain from making too much noise when you 'take a break', as my children have good hearing." Cavallone said cajolingly. He paused as if recalling a memory. "Very good hearing…."

Yamamoto laughed. "I'm sure."

"You have no idea how disconcerting it is to be 'taking a break' and have your children barge in and want to make sure you're ok after hearing strange noises."Dino laughed. "Especially, when they want to climb into bed with you."

"Well, don't worry, it wasn't that much of a break." Yamamoto smiled. "So, what are you doing out here so late?"

"Oh… I'm.. uh." Dino looked a little awkward.

"Boss." They turned to see a very short man walking towards them.

"Dino, prompt as ever." Cavallone said. "Let me introduce you. Takeshi Yamamoto and Hayato Gokudera this is Dino Cavallaro."

The much shorter man nodded. "Nice to meet you," He turned back to Cavallone. "You ready to go?"

"What are you supposed to be?" Gokudera said rudely. "Another one of Cavallone's children?"

Cavallaro gritted his teeth in anger. He was actually older than Cavallone 10th, he was just a little shy of 5'2" and happened to look a lot like his boss, except for his hair, which he secretly colored brown so he would less resemble him. Sharing the same first name and a similar last name didn't make it any easier. He knew that behind his back the other men called him "Junior".

"This is one of my most trusted men." Dino interrupted. "I would appreciate it if you would make an effort at not being blatantly rude."

Gokudera ignored him. "What's a little munchkin like you doing here?"

"I work here." Cavallaro gritted his teeth trying to remember what his anger management coach told hm.

"Hayato!" Yamamoto shot his fellow Vongola a warning look. He turned back to Cavallone and nodding towards Cavallaro asked. "Where are the two of you going?"

"None of your fucking business."

"Dino, would you start the car please?" Cavallone said pointedly. "It's just something I want to double check before tomorrow."

"You've located her?" Gokudera asked.

"Possibly,"

"Wait. what?" Yamamoto was a little confused.

"You're going alone?" Gokudera demanded.

"I assure you I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Yamamoto and Gokudera gave him skeptical looks pointedly glancing at his cane. Dino sighed. "Besides Cavallaro will be with me. I'll be perfectly safe." Dino began limping towards the door.

"Yeah, because we're coming too." Gokudera said falling into step beside him. Yamamoto followed loyally.

"Seriously? I'm just checking out a few locations. I don't think this will be necessary. You should get some sleep." Dino tried to sound reasonable. He winked at Yamamoto. "Take a break."

Trying to hide the blush spreading across his face, Gokudera forcefully opened the car door and taking a seat slammed it shut behind him. Cavallaro had been waiting outside the car and helped Dino into the front passenger seat. Yamamoto gave him an apologetic look as he slid into the back seat next to Gokudera.

The longer they drove the more Gokudera wondered what they were doing. He listened as Dino would give his driver directions and watched as he thumbed through papers and made notes. Sometimes they would park outside a building for a few moments whilst Dino made notes on a large map he had spread out on the dash board and muttered to himself comparing the next location on the map to something in the paperwork. Gokudera fidgeted. He needed a cigarette. Yamamoto reached out and rested a hand on his arm trying to calm him down. Gokudera pushed his hand away. Yamamoto sighed and returned to staring out the window, bored. They pulled to a stop at the top of a hill overlooking an old warehouse.

"We're just going to take a look around." Dino said unbuckling and trying to extricate himself from his mess of papers.

"We're coming too." Gokudera said immediately almost launching himself out of the car. Yamamoto followed more slowly.

Cavallaro gave Dino a look as if to say. _Seriously, they're coming too?_ Dino just smiled back. They made their way slowly down the hill mostly hindered by Dino's slow progress. They made it to the fence surrounding the back of the warehouse and stopped.

"Would you and Gokudera circle around that side of the building? Cavallaro and I will go the other way. See if you can get a look inside. We want to know what's going on. Don't draw attention to yourselves." Dino whispered panting slightly and leaning heavily on his good leg.

"Boss… Why don't you wait here?" Cavallaro suggested. "It's not going to take very long. You just sit here."

"…Maybe you're right…" Dino said leaning heavily against the fence and pulling out his gun. "I'll wait here for you." He began to screw a silencer on to the barrel.

The three remaining men hopped the fence and split off in separate directions circling around the perimeter. Gokudera and Yamamoto stealthily approached the building. They pressed their backs against the wall and peered in through a window. Nothing. It was completely black. They found a door and tried the knob. With little resistance the door swung inward, rusted hinges creaking loudly in the night's silence. Yamamoto entered.

"Hey! Yamamoto! What are you doing?" Gokudera hissed.

He ignored him and pulling out a flashlight he had taken from Dino's car shined the light around the room. There was nothing there. Behind him there was a patter of quick footsteps as Gokudera caught up with him.

"Idiot!"

Yamamoto caught Gokudera by the wrist and pulled him into a kiss.

"What are you doing?" Gokudera tried to push him away forcefully. Yamamoto wouldn't let him, he grabbed him and held him to his chest.

"It was a onetime thing. There's nothing between Tsuna and me." Yamamoto said quietly. "There never has been."

"You want to talk about this now?" Gokudera managed to break free of his grip and put a little distance between them. "Stop being stupid! Let's _not_ do this now!"

"Why not? No one else is around."Yamamoto said. "And I know you. As soon as we get back you'll run off and I want to explain to you so you won't be mad."

"Well, stopping in the middle of a potentially dangerous situation to get all touchy-feely is making me mad!" Gokudera growled. "Suck it up and stop being such a pussy."

"Promise me we'll talk about this when we're out of here?"

"Fine!" Gokudera grabbed the flashlight from him and started looking around the warehouse. Yamamoto followed closely behind him. They spun around at the sound of footsteps behind them.

"You guys done with your little moment?" Cavallaro said walking towards them. "I thought I'd give you two a little bit, so I circled around the building again. If you want I can make another lap…"

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying…." Cavallaro shrugged theatrically. "If you two girls want to have a little quicky, I'm sure any lurking bad guys would be glad to wait for you too."

"You little piece of midget shit…" Gokudera began.

"Hayato!" Yamamoto said stepping between them. "I'm sorry, it was my fault. It was unprofessional. It won't happen again."

Gokudera and Cavallaro glared at each other and finally both looked away.

"Fine."

The three of them walked around the room. It was just an empty warehouse, made eerie by the shadows created through the flashlight beams. They walked around the outside of the large room. There was nothing there except dust, dirt, and spiders. It was a complete waste of time.

"Hey, go back." Yamamoto said. He grabbed Gokudera's shoulders and rotated him so that the flashlight pointed to a spot on the floor. The patch of dirt was slightly darker. They approached it cautiously and Gokudera knelt down to examine it. It was a very dirty disgusting rug. He kicked it out of the way to reveal a trap door.

"Seriously?" Gokudera sighed. "This is so cliché." He fished out his cell phone and dialed Dino.

"Hello?"

"Cavallone, we've found a door in the floor."

There was a grunt on the other end and a strange muffled sound.

"Is everything all right?" Gokudera said uncertainly. Cavallaro looked up from studying the door, suddenly very concerned.

"Yup. Everything's great over here. Just my leg. Go ahead and investigate." Dino said cheerfully. "But… keep it quick… Maybe 5 minutes?"

"Fine," Gokudera cut the connection. "Dino's fine, he said to investigate further." He said in response to Cavallaro's worried look.

Cavallaro nodded and continued to examine the lock on the door. Once the cover was removed, it was revealed to be a keypad lock. He groaned. This was not his area of expertise.

"Screw this." Gokudera pushed Cavallaro out of the way and pulled out a stick of dynamite. He placed it carefully on the lock and lit the fuse. The three of them legged it across the warehouse before it exploded removing the lock and half of the door. Cavallaro was the first to the opening. He crouched next to the hole and aimed his gun and flashlight down it. There was a long tunnel and a ladder against the wall providing a means for descent. Glancing up at Yamamoto and Gokudera he nodded and with even less ceremony swung himself down into the hole and slid down the ladder to the floor. With his back pressed against the wall he peered around the corner. There were emergency lights lining the corridor; casting a blood red glow. The two thuds behind him were Gokudera and Yamamoto joining him.

"By the way. Cavallone said to keep it quick… Five minutes tops," Gokudera said taking the lead and proceeding down the hallway.

"Why five minutes?" Cavallaro said catching up. They reached a door and opening it carefully found it lead into a brightly lit corridor.

"I dunno." There were the loud thumps of footsteps echoing from the opposite end of the new hallway.

"This way." Yamamoto hissed opening a door and pulling Gokudera in, Cavallaro followed.

The room was dark. Yamamoto groped along the wall and found a light switch. The white light flooded the room illuminating lines of shelving. Gokudera walked over to the nearest one and pulled a box off of a shelf at random. He opened it and found it was full of explosives. He walked down another row and found tanks of chemicals. He examined the labels with an expert's eye. This was bad. These chemicals when mixed were incredibly volatile. He pulled out his cell for a second time and called Dino.

"Hello?" Dino's voice sounded strained.

"Hey. Cavallone. There's some serious explosives here…. What would you like us to do?"

"Hayato." Dino said. "Do what you do best and get back here as soon as you can. We need to leave as soon as possible. I'll be waiting for you by the car."

Gokudera hung up and smiled. _FINALLY_. He was getting tired of just sneaking around he pulled his hair back into a ponytail and grabbed several boxes off the shelves and handed them to Yamamoto. With a dolly he was able to wheel one of the tanks over to Cavallaro. With another dolly he was able to move the companion tank.

"What are you planning?" Yamamoto asked.

"Just do what I say." Gokudera said. He wheeled the tank over into the corner near the door and motioning to Cavallaro had him do the same. Working quickly he set up a complicated looking system with one of his smaller sticks of TNT with an extremely long fuse in the middle. He put his ear to the door and listened for a moment. Having heard nothing he carefully opened the door a crack and looked down the hallway, their pursuit had left. He motioned for Cavallaro and Yamamoto to exit and he shut the door so that the end of the fuse was barely protruding through the crack under the door. "Now, we're going to wander around and plant these explosives that Yamamoto has at intervals." He did some quick mental arithmetic. "…Intervals of about 3 or 4 meters. Leave all doors open for maximum effect."

They planted three alone in that hallway. They spread out each taking a few boxes of explosives and a different direction. Their work took only moments. Yamamoto was placing his last package when a door next to him opened and a man in a jumpsuit rushed into the hallway. He looked over and saw him. They made eye contact both frozen where they stood. The man reached for, a hidden weapon, and with one fluid movement Yamamoto punched him in the face and pushed him back into the room he had exited from. He looked up and saw that the man had not been alone. There were ten men in the room. They were all standing around tables covered in various machinery and what looked like weapons that lay in pieces. Yamamoto didn't hesitate to slam the door behind him, and cursing the bravado that had led him to leave his sword in his room, ran down the hallway towards the exit.

Alarm bells began to clang and Yamamoto approached Gokudera and Cavallaro who were both waiting for him outside the room with the explosives. Gokudera lit a match and applied it to the bit of fuse under the door and the three of them ran as fast as they were physically able, out of the corridor and climbed the ladder. They had made it out of the warehouse when the explosion started. They were over the fence before it finished.

Cavallaro barely registered the bodies lying on the ground next to where they had left Dino as he ran up the hill. Halfway up his foot slipped in something and his hand landed in a wet and sticky puddle. They made it up over the hill and safely to the car before any of them stopped to breathe and take in the situation. Cavallaro leaned against the car panting. Dino was sitting there waiting for them. Gokudera and Yamamoto were both out of breath. Gokudera was doubled over clutching his knees wheezing slightly.

"Honestly Hayato, you need to quit smoking." Yamamoto said between gulps of air.

"Shut," Gokudera coughed violently for a moment. "up,"

"Cavallaro… Are you bleeding?" Yamamoto said, straightening up. Cavallaro looked down at his palm. It was covered in blood.

"It's not mine. I must have slipped in it when…" He looked up. "Boss… Are you hurt?"

"Yeah." Dino said casually. "Don't worry about me. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible."

Cavallaro grabbed Dino and helped him to his feet. He noticed that Dino had ripped off the sleeve of his shirt and had made a makeshift bandage on his leg.

"Boss you didn't…"

"I'm fine!" Dino insisted. He managed to limp over to his side of the car and took his seat while everyone else piled in. Cavallaro stepped on the gas and they were flying out of there. A few miles down the road, he slowed down to the speed limit. An awkward silence filled the car. Yamamoto and Gokudera sat quietly in the back. Gokudera, heart still pumping with adrenaline, let his hand fall next to Yamamoto's, allowing his fingers to brush against his.

"What happened?" Cavallaro said finally breaking the silence.

"Well… There were guards patrolling the perimeter, only they were on the outside of the fence." Dino said simply, as though this explained everything.

"AND?"

"I shot them."

"Why are you bleeding?"

"They shot me too." Dino tried to make it sound like a minor setback; he didn't like to make people worry. He thought about the phrase, and added. "twice."

"Holy SHIT! Boss! Where did they hit you? We need to get you to a hospital!"

"One just grazed my side and the other got me in the leg."

"Where's the nearest hospital?"

"I'm fine. I got the bullet out," Dino said trying to calm him down.

"You dug the bullet out yourself?"

"Well, I had nothing else to do, and it needed to be done..."

"Romario is going to kill me." Cavallaro worriedly ran a hand through his hair. "Oh my god, he's going to kill me."

"Speaking of…" Dino said. "Would you mind if we stopped by his place? I think I need stitches…"

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome. Sorry it's a little late… but hey it's ridiculously long this week so I hope that makes up for it.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

There was a loud knock on the door.

"Romario." Kusakabe mumbled into his pillow. "Someone's at the door."

"They'll go away eventually," Romario didn't move. He was warm and comfortable.

It went on for several minutes before it finally stopped. Romario smiled into his pillow and reached out and gently took hold of Kusakabe's hand. He began to drift back to sleep when his phone began to ring. He groaned loudly and rolled over. He groped around and found it on his nightstand.

"Hello?" He said blearily into the phone.

"Romario?" It was Dino.

"What is it boss?"

"It's me Cavallaro." Woops.

"Oh. Sorry. You guys sound the same over the phone. What do you want?" He said and then added pointedly. "It's one in the morning."

"Yeah. Don't freak out or anything. But could you open your door? We're in the hallway," He sounded like he was barely containing panic.

"Why are you in the hallway?" Romario said rolling out of bed and looking for pants.

"I don't want to tell you over the phone. Just answer your goddamn door!" Cavallaro paused a moment. "please."

"Just a sec." Romario hung up and finding a pair of pajama pants pulled them on.

"What's going on?" Kusakabe asked sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The sight of his naked chest made Romario wish that he could just leave Cavallaro to rot in the hallway.

"Don't worry about it. Go back to bed." Romario leaned over and kissed him. "Cavallaro's probably just over reacting over something trivial again." Kusakabe nodded sleepily and lay back down. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow. Romario envied him.

He walked into the living room and opened the door for a fuming Cavallaro. The short man pushed his way in aggressively.

"Now you have to promise not to overreact." Dino Cavallaro said. He leaned back out into the hallway as though he were checking on something.

"Yeah. Sure." Romario said a little annoyed. "What is it?"

"Dino's been shot."

Romario stared at him blankly for a moment. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. This… This can't be right.

"W…what?" Romario managed. "I think I misheard you. Did you say that Dino… Dino CAVALLONE… Boss… has been shot?"

"Um…" He glanced back down the hallway. "Yes. Dino the Cavallone 10th boss has been shot."

Romario grabbed him by his collar and dragged him into the room. Lifting the tiny man off the ground he slammed him against the wall.

"How badly is he hurt? What happened? What hospital did you take him to? Why are you standing here wasting time?" He roared.

"He's just down the hall." Cavallaro said uncertain how to handle Romario's wrath.

"ALONE?"

"He's with Gokudera and Yamamoto."

Romario dropped him and ran out into the hallway. Dino was approaching slowly with Gokudera and Yamamoto for support, only a few doors away.

Dino smiled when he saw Romario. "Hey. Sorry to bother you like this."

Romario stood aside and let them bring him in and set him on the couch. "Where did they shoot you?"

"The leg. Do you have a towel or something? When we take the bandage off I don't want to bleed all over your apartment." Dino tried to avoid looking Romario in the eye, it was a reflex left over from when he was younger and Romario was assigned as his body guard. Cavallaro appeared with a bunch of towels and laid them out to cover the part of Romario's couch under Dino's leg. "But, don't worry. It was my sore leg, so it's I'll still be able to get around."

"Oh well. If it's your sore leg then I don't know why we're even worried." Romario said sarcastically. He pulled the foot-rest over for him to sit on and unwrapped the make-shift bandage. He examined the wound with a veteran's eye and let out an angry hiss of air. "Where's the bullet?"

"I took it out."

"You what?" Romario said with a forced calm that shook the room.

"I was able to extract the bullet from the giant hole in my leg."

"Dino." Romario said, unconsciously falling back into the demeanor he had used when dealing with a much younger Cavallone. "Do you have any medical training?"

"Not as such…" Dino began.

"No. You don't." Romario interrupted him. "SO THEN WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DIG A BULLET OUT OF YOUR OWN LEG WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU'RE DOING? DID YOU WANT TO PERMANENTLY DAMAGE YOUR LEG? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF HARM YOU COULD HAVE CAUSED?"

Yamamoto and Gokudera shifted awkwardly, standing off to the side. Watching the two of them argue was uncomfortable, like intruding on a disagreement between a father and son.

"I had the proper tweezers, I got them out of the car med kit." Dino said a little cowed.

"Oh well! That makes it all right then!" Romario turned to Cavallaro suddenly. "Get my medical bag. It's in my room by the door."

"It's ok I've got it." Kusakabe came out of the bedroom wrapped in Romario's robe. He put the bag down next to his lover.

Cavallaro stared; he looked from Romario to Kusakabe and back again; suddenly taking in the robe, the clothes still scattered on the floor, and the dark hickies visible on Romario's bare chest and shoulders. Realization dawned. "Oh. My. God."

"Another word out of your mouth _Junior_ and I'm fucking going to stitch it shut." Romario removed the necessary supplies from his bag. Cavallaro clamped his mouth shut with a loud click of colliding teeth.

"So… You two..." Gokudera supplied.

"You too Hayato!" Romario began to carefully disinfect the wound. When Gokudera opened his mouth to argue, Yamamoto laid a quieting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't test him right now." He whispered in his ear. "How would you feel if Tsuna had just been shot?" Gokudera cringed slightly, a wave of sympathy rushing over him. He noticed that Romario's hands were completely steady, despite his anger… He wondered if he would be able to act nearly as calmly if the circumstances were reversed. Silence fell while they all watched Romario work.

"Junior. A moment." Romario said after finishing the last stitch. He left his tools where they were, he would clean them up in a minute. Right now he had to sort something out. Cavallaro followed him into his office wearily. Romario shut the door behind him.

"So, Junior, why aren't you shot?" Romario asked.

"Excuse me?" He said immediately defensive.

Romario took a step forward towering over him. "Our boss is sitting on my couch with a hole in his leg and you're standing in front of me with not a single scratch on you." His voice was solid with suppressed rage. "You think this is acceptable? For every bullet in our boss there should be five in you. So please explain to me why you're not looking like Swiss cheese?"

"I was investigating the base… Like he said." Cavallaro said standing his ground and firmly meeting Romario's gaze. "I was following orders."

"And where was Dino?"

"He was outside the base's fence… alone." Cavallaro mumbled the last part.

"YOU NEVER LEAVE THE BOSS ALONE IN A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION!" Romario yelled in his face. "You do that again and I will _personally_ shoot you."

"But, he said," Cavallaro began.

Romario cut him off quickly. "I don't care what he said. You never EVER leave the boss ALONE." Cavallaro opened his mouth to respond. "No. Junior. I don't want to hear it. You keep your mouth SHUT until I feel that you're competent enough you can talk to me again."

"My name," He said angrily. "Is NOT Junior."

"You thought that was some stupid nick name before? You don't even deserve that. As far as I'm concerned you don't deserve a name," Romario spat.

"I was FOLLOWING ORDERS," He shot back.

"You are an _elite_ member of the Cavallone family. The Boss's well being is TOP PRIORITY and takes precedence over all else." Romario said pushing his anger down and taking back control. "Dino can be stubborn at times and doesn't like to burden anyone. You _know_ this. You need to remember that sometimes you have to disobey him to keep him from doing something stupid on his own."

"Well take your own advice! You could have been there. But, no you took off to fuck your boyfriend." He didn't even know why he said it. He was full of anger and shame and needed to lash out at the man making it all worse, filling him with resentment.

Romario grabbed him by the neck and slammed him bodily against the wall. "You just want to die tonight don't you?" Cavallaro froze he knew that moving right now would only provoke his anger more. He realized how fear for one's life will intensely concentrate the mind, his eyes fixated on the scar on Romario's shoulder, the spiky circle of a bullet wound. He remembered that Romario was not the kind of man to ask someone to do something he himself wasn't willing to do, or hadn't already done. "Don't try to put your inadequacies onto me. You pathetic piece of shit." Romario turned and stormed out of the office.

Dino was on the phone. Romario ignored a questioning look from Kusakabe and picking up his equipment went into the kitchen to clean up. He could hear Dino's side of the conversation while he worked.

"Hey Julius!" Dino was saying. "I'm so sorry about calling so late I hope I didn't disturb you and Janine." Dino paused a moment while someone talked on the other line. "Oh really? At her sisters? The kids too?" Another pause. "At least they didn't burn down the entire house."

"You ok?"

Romario jumped slightly as two strong arms encircled his waste from behind.

"I'm fine Tetsu." Romario sighed he leaned back slightly and let Kusakabe's warmth engulf him.

He could still hear Dino on the phone in the other room. "I have a favor to ask…Would you be able to run down to the warehouse 66 on Via Vervio? There was some… incidents and I need to make sure that the police can't tie me to what happened." There was a pause. "Thanks so much. I'll have Roberto sent over to your house tomorrow to look at the fire damage if that's convenient for you?... great! Thanks again."

Tetsu kissed the nape of his neck. "You shouldn't worry so much. Everyone is fine."

"No. They're not fine. Dino's got a giant hole in his leg!"

Kusakabe grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around. "No one is dead and he'll heal just fine. You've taken care of it." He kissed him softly and rested his forehead against his, a difficult manuevuer with his pompadour hairstyle. "You think too much."

Romario sighed and hugged Kusakabe. There was a polite cough from the kitchen door.

"Sorry to interrupt." Dino said limping into the room leaning heavily on his cane. "Tetsu would you mind giving us a moment?" Kusakabe nodded and left the room.

"You shouldn't be putting any weight on that leg. You should be on crutches." Romario returned to sterilizing his tools.

"I don't do crutches." Dino said sitting down carefully at the kitchen table. "Remember last time? When I sprained my ankle? It took me a day before I tripped over the damn things and fell down the stairs and broke my other leg!"

"Yeah, I remember." Romario smiled despite himself. "Carmen laughed so hard she went into labor."

"Saved on gas though…. Only one trip to the hospital." Dino smiled sadly. "Probably the only birth where the dad had more pain killer than the mother... They wheeled me into the delivery room just-in-time, wouldn't let me hold Carlotta until some of the side-effects wore off though."

"Yeah I got to hold her before you did." Romario sighed and turned to face him. "Boss… What do you want? I doubt you kicked Tetsu out so that we could reminisce in private."

"You shouldn't be so hard on Cavallaro. He was following orders."

"Boss… You idiot. I can't believe you put him in the situation where he would leave you alone." Romario said seriously.

"I can take care of myself, Romario." Dino said looking him steadily in the eye. "I know what I did and why I did it, and I will take the consequences of my actions. I saw the guards, they were aiming at them when they entered the warehouse. I shot two of them before they noticed me. Two got closer and unfortunately one of their shots hit." Dino grimaced.

"You need to remember that you're the BOSS."

"Honestly Romario, you think that I forget that?"

"I think that you forget that it is our JOB to protect YOU not the other way around."

A heavy silence fell between them. Romario grabbed the chair opposite him and sat down.

"Look, boss. I know you care about us, but you have to understand that your life is more important. You have a higher priority."

"Romario, that's where you're wrong."

"No. That's part of being the boss. That is something you have always had a problem grasping,"

"Yes, well… It's better than understanding that concept too well… like my father..." Dino looked down at his hands. "Anyways, it's my fault, so I would appreciate it if you would give Cavallaro some slack."

"I'll try boss."

"Thanks." Dino stood up unsteadily. "We'll get out of your hair now." Romario stood and helped them to the door. When they all filed out, he watched them go down the hall before closing the door behind them. He turned around to be caught up in a kiss from Kusakabe, who pushed him against the door.

"Let's go to bed." He whispered into his ear. Romario smiled.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome. Sorry it's a SUPER late! I had a busy weekend and lost track of time…Stupid hedgehog... distracting me...


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Dino woke up the next morning to a large weight landing on his chest. His body was moving before his brain had time to catch up. He hadn't slept well, and through the sleepy fog clouding his brain he was barely able to register that the weight was not an attacker in time to alter the trajectory of his throw to the bed beside him rather that across the room and into the wall.

"Antonio Romario Cavallone!" Dino yelled, while his son giggled. "I've told you NOT to DO that! You scared the hell out of me!" Under normal circumstances this behavior might result in a father-son wrestling match, but every muscle in his body ached from the night before.

"But, it's so much fun!" He said sitting up and looking around the room. "Where's new mother? Is she here? If she is then Lotta owes me five Euros."

"I thought I told you not to make bets with your sister?" Dino said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yeah, but this one's a sure thing." He said smiling. "You're married now and I heard that means you're forced to sleep together!"

"Who told you that?" Dino said suspiciously. Sitting up and resting his back against the headboard. He wasn't sure if he could stand without support and didn't want to try it with Antonio in the room.

"Oh." Antonio suddenly realized that he was teetering on the edge of getting someone into trouble. "Catalina." He needed to get her back for telling on him when he accidentally ripped a hole in Grandmother's couch.

"Sure she did." Dino said not believing a word.

"So? Where is new mother?" He said innocently moving so he was sitting right next to his father. He leaned his head against Dino's shoulder.

"She's not here, she had to go somewhere last night." He said putting an arm around him.

"Oh." He looked crestfallen.

"This is why you should never make bets with your sister." Dino said seriously. "You always lose." He ruffled Antonio's hair. "Now go pay your sister what you owe her. I've got to get dressed."

With a disgruntled huff he slipped off the bed and stomped out of the room.

Dino sighed. This was going to be a long day, with everything that had happened the night before plus having had stayed up most of the night going through all the documents pertaining to the property he acquired from the family merger. He tried to stand and immediately regretted it. Sharp tendrils of pain spread out from his leg and expanded through him causing him to immediately sit back down. This can't be right. Factoring in the gun-shot wound it seemed even worse than the night before. He gingerly tried to stand up again putting all his weight on his good leg and leaning against the wall.

"You look ridiculous,"

Dino's hand slipped, he tried to catch himself on his night stand, but he just ended up knocking it over as he fell to the floor. Cursing under his breath he grabbed onto the bed and pulled himself up. He sat on the edge of the bed facing the intruder.

"What is it Kyouya?" Dino asked. He noticed the dark circles under Hibari's eyes and the slightly paler than usual hue of his skin. "A little hung over?"

Hibari's eyes narrowed. He didn't have a headache so much as his stomach still felt perpetually queasy. His gaze roamed over Dino's face and the large bruises spread across his exposed chest and legs, the giant bandage covering the stitches was particularly obvious. "Did you fall down the stairs again herbivore?"

"Ah. I'm an herbivore again… No, we were attacked last night." Dino said. "Victoria was taken." He absentmindedly turned the ring on his finger; he still wasn't completely used to it yet, it felt heavy.

Hibari's eyes widened. He had missed a fight? His original intention for making his way here had been to talk to Dino about what he had said last night, but all thoughts of his self-humiliation were immediately banished. All his feelings of embarrassment and self-loathing were immediately replaced by cold biting fury. He had missed the perfect opportunity to take out all his frustrations and revel in the joy of bloodshed."No one thought to get me?"

"It didn't last long enough." Dino said, he noticed that his cane had been knocked over when he took down the nightstand. He extended a leg and tried to catch it with his toe. It was just out of reach.

"I will not miss another one." Hibari said firmly. He watched Dino straining to reach the cane. "You will tell me when you are leaving to take her back."

"Sure." He said absentmindedly. "Would you just kick it a little my way?"

"No." Hibari kicked the cane further away from him and turning on his heel left.

"Hey! Kyouya!" Dino called. Hibari didn't come back. "Evil minded vindictive little…" Gritting his teeth he managed to lower himself onto the floor and half crawl across the room. He grabbed his cane in one hand and using the doorknob of the open door for support and leverage, got to his feet. He heard voices in the hallway. Balancing carefully, he peered down the corridor and saw Hibari was standing a little farther along talking with Catalina, Isabella, Davide, and Dimitrio.

"…. And so I thought, they haven't met you yet, so it would be great to introduce you." Catalina babbled happily. "This is Davide and this is Dimitrio." She said. "Davide and Dimitrio this is our Uncle Kyouya." She paused for a moment and then added in a stage whisper, Catalina was always a little overly dramatic. "He's not really our uncle, but we call him that because he's daddy's best friend and that makes him family."

They stood there and stared at each other for a moment. In one fluid movement Hibari dropped into a squatting position so that he was eye level with the two boys. He shook their hands. "Pleased to meet you." He said formally.

"I told you he wasn't scary." Isabella said.

"You can hug him." Catalina said brightly. Hibari looked a little taken aback, but before he could stand up, she and her sister moved forward and gave him a hug. With identical smiles on their identical faces Davide and Dimitrio joined them before Hibari could protest.

Dino smiled sadly and closed the door. It made his heart ache.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.  
Hey, sorry this is so late. For some reason wasn't letting me post. I kept getting a weird error messages. So I did try to post on time... Sorry...


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

"You ready boss?" Romario said poking his head into Dino's bedroom.

Dino glanced at his reflection one more time. Black suit, black shirt, black tie, black cane… He looked so sharp if he slipped he'd disembowel himself. "Is everyone in position?"

"Of course," Romario said holding open the door. "We have men positioned at each location you suggested. Upon Tsuna's insistence there is a Vongola guardian and a Varia member with each taskforce."

Dino frowned. "I would have preferred that this be kept in the family."

"I took the liberty of agreeing." Romario said. "They are useful assets and Tsuna's insistence was getting on my nerves."

"That's probably just as well." Dino smiled. "Shall we go?"

Romario nodded and held open the door for Dino to limp through.

As he made his way to the limousine waiting for him outside, he passed the portrait of his father and internally grimaced. His father hadn't been a bad mafia boss, but he had failed to see the larger picture. Under Dino's guidance he was able to expand their empire making them the third most powerful mafia family by the age of 22. Now they were in second place and he was currently content with that.

One of his men opened the door for him and taking care not to put any weight on his bad leg, he slid onto the black leather seat. Romario entered on the other side taking a position opposite him. The limousine rolled smoothly down the driveway. Dino stared out the window watching the scenery fly past as they picked up speed. One thing his father had never really grasped was the importance of the paper trail. Everything left a paper trail. To understand it, you just had to understand how the human mind works. The Cavallone 9th had preferred to ignore the subtleties of diplomacy and rely on the crude control of fear. He sighed, expelling the air in a quiet hiss from between tight lips.

"Something bothering you?"Romario asked.

"what?" Dino asked returning to reality.

"Is it Rivello?"

"yeah… " _no_. Dino didn't feel like explaining. "It worries me that, that traitor would be back…"

"Your father had him killed…"

"I know." Dino went back to staring out the window.

Romario nodded solemnly."Anything else on your mind Boss?"

"Hm?" Dino looked back up at him.

"You ok?" Romario rephrased.

"I'm fine." Dino said returning to stare out the window.

Something was nagging at him. This was too… simple. No… not simple… obvious? … perhaps. Finding Victoria's kidnapper had been simple. A matter of logical deduction. Takeshi's and Hayato's testimonies had been helpful, but unnecessary. Good for placating the masses who would demand more solid proof. He had to be honest with himself in that he was not emotionally invested in her safe return. He of course cared about her… but love was not a motivating factor in her rescue. He had to return her safely to maintain the Cavallone family reputation and dignity. He grimaced at how callus that thought had been. He felt like he was slowly losing touch with his innocence. When he had become the Cavallone boss he had been full of ideas and hopes and focused on making everyone's lives better. Granted, he still focused on helping people and charity, but it had lost its sparkle. When you learned what rotten bastards most people are you tended to lose enthusiasm.

People are… Herbivores. Dino smiled despite himself. That's what Kyouya calls most people. He was back to being an herbivore now. Faced with this hot truth the smile melted. He had worked hard for three years to prove to Kyouya that he was different. Then he got caught up in this mess. The Gaglio family starts causing trouble and everyone turns to the Cavallone for help. And he couldn't just say no. People needed him. People always needed him…. Infinite wants: a basic principle of economics 101. Kyouya wouldn't understand. How could he? He was probably the most uncomplicated complicated person Dino knew. Everything for Kyouya was black and white. Herbivore or Carnivore. Bitten or not bitten…

_God I miss Kyouya._ He put everything into perspective. The thought of Kyouya's confession only the night before made him smile again. He had almost lost himself there. Almost gave into the ever present desire to kiss him; to create a physical representation of his feelings for the man. Everything that happens afterwards is stress relief, but the kiss… is special. They had shared their first kiss during the week of training for the ring battle against the Varia. It had been Kyouya's first ever kiss. It had been an accident really. They had been fighting on a mountain in the Kansai region of Japan and a few large rocks had dislodged themselves and would have brained Kyouya if Dino hadn't pulled him out of the way and in that close moment where Dino had him pinned against the ground, cut off from Romario and Tetsuya, he had kissed him. In that moment of shock and adrenaline Kyouya's first reaction was to respond, kissing him back. Of course the moment hadn't lasted long, but in the course of that week it had eventually progressed to something more… He could still remember how shy Kyouya had been about their first time partaking in stress relief. Kyouya had hardly wanted to acknowledge what they were doing. Every time Dino would do something that now would make Kyouya moan, being more comfortable, Kyouya had instead clenched his teeth and fought against any acknowledgment of enjoyment. Dino remembered biting the man's shoulder and hearing his teeth grinding. He had been a little confused by the noise so he had nibbled on his neck and kissed along his jaw line, to find that Kyouya was developing a case of lock jaw. He had solved the problem there and then. He had carefully removed the other man's pants, and with his mouth had given Kyouya his first sexual experience. Come to think of it, it had been a fist for both of them; it was the first time he had done anything like that with another man. The memory of Kyouya's long delicate fingers tangled in his blond hair as he gasped and moaned under his ministrations made Dino's body ache for him.

Dino shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was married now he shouldn't be thinking these thoughts. He should be focused on Victoria and rescuing her… Victoria….Sweet naïve Victoria… She was good at kissing, but the emotion wasn't there. Kyouya… He was a challenge. Kyouya fought back, in everything. Even in the afterglow of passion, while he was sleepy and satisfied, he would leave an opening when Dino would kiss him gently… tenderly… even still he would fight back in some small way: be it rolling away from him after allowing one such kiss or turning his head so that any other kisses would land on his cheek. As much as they sometimes hurt, Dino missed those moments. This week had been difficult, every time he saw him the emotions would rise up, demanding to be acknowledged, and he would have to push them back down again.

_I'm not supposed to love him anymore_. He longed for his touch, for his self-satisfied smirk, for anything but the carefully blank expression he had adopted when around him now. He missed his reassuring presence, always silently lurking in the background. He especially missed being able to spend time with Kyouya and his children together. The kids had even made him an official uncle. He knew that Kyouya wasn't just anyone: not just a lover or a boyfriend, he was family. Dino knew what he had done was an unforgivable betrayal to him. He just hoped that even in his un-forgiveness Kyouya would understand that it was necessary to protect his family.

"Boss." Romario leaned forward and touched his shoulder. "We're here."

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome. I'm sorry it's so late! AGAIN! I get off my routine and it messes everything up. I'll try to do better for you next week…


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

"So, I hear you and the Rain guardian have hooked up," Belphegor smiled widely.

"Shut up. It's none of your business." Gokudera glared at him.

"Ushi shi shi shi."Belphegor laughed his usual insane grin widened. "So does that mean you're not going to service your prince anymore?"

"What the fuck are you talking about? You're a sick bastard." Gokudera lit a cigarette and tried to pretend he didn't know what he was referring to; being around Belphegor made him feel uneasy. It kept bringing to mind… past events.

_I think I'm going to kill them._ Dino Cavallaro thought to himself watching Gokudera and Belphegor bicker._ Are all the Vongola banging each other? Are they all gay? _

"Shut up guys." Cavallaro hissed between clenched teeth. This mission was important, he had to prove himself after getting Cavallone 10th shot. Despite Cavallone's reassurances that he wasn't to blame the guilt still burned inside of him and Romario's words kept repeating themselves over and over. Both of the young men turned to look at him. He couldn't help but feel disconcerted by Belphegor's appearance. He honestly believed that the eyes are windows to the soul, and with his long blond bangs covering the top half of his face it looked as though Belphegor didn't have eyes at all which implied disturbing things about the state of his soul. The strange silver crown and mad grin didn't help. "We're almost there."

He double checked the address and pulled over across the street. The rest of the caravan pulled over behind him.

Cavallaro got out of the car followed by the Vongola family members. He sized them up, and internally grimaced they were both significantly taller than him. He hated always being looked down at by people.

"Now, it would be best if we could work together and split up in three teams." He began puffing out his chest trying to make himself taller.

"Fucking midget." Gokudera said flicking a cigarette butt over his head.

"ushishishi," Belphegor laughed.

Cavallaro felt his eye twitch. He grabbed Gokudera by the lapels and pulled him down to eye level.

"Look. This is a Cavallone mission. I have been put in charge by Cavallone 10th. I don't care what family you're from, or what you're doing with whomever. We're on a mission and I'm in charge. So you're going to do what I say." He glared at Gokudera and then remembered some advice Romario had given him just before the mission. "Besides, Vongola 10th said you were to follow the Cavallone lead." He let go of the other man's lapels. Gokudera straightened up and readjusted his jacket.

"Fine. For the tenth."

"So, as I was saying we should each take a third of the men and strike from different directions." Cavallaro finished his thought.

"I don't need any of your men." Belphegor said bluntly crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't give a shit." A headache was starting in his right temple. Cavallaro turned towards the men piling out of the other vans. "You five with Smokey. You five with his highness Creeper here. And you five with me." He turned to look at Gokudera and Belphegor. "If you'd like a moment to introduce yourselves you may."

Neither of them moved. They both looked at him sullenly… or at least Gokudera did, it was hard to tell Belphegor's expression.

"Let's move out."

* * *

Yamamoto peered over the hill at the little house that was supposed to be their target.

"It doesn't look threatening." Yamamoto said uncertainly. "It looks like a little old lady's house from some story book."

"Well… Boss said this was the place." Carlos quadruple checked the address. Carlos was average height and well built, with olive skin and wavy brown hair which was always messy. He had been working for the Cavallone family for 6 years and had learned from his work with Dino Cavallone that appearances can be deceiving. But…"You're right…It looks like my granny's place…"

"Voi!" Squalo shouted at them. "This is stupid! If this is the place we should strike now and take care of it and be done!" _Tch. Amateurs. These people were useless. A mission was a mission, you finished it promptly and efficiently and went home. _

"You're right." Carlos motioned to the men standing behind them a short distance away. "We should head down."

* * *

Ryohei sighed. He didn't like how Lussuria and Fedele were getting along so well. Fedele was tall, pale, and thin and had delicate androgynous features. The entire drive to the address that Dino had specified, Ryohei sat quietly and listened as Fedele and Lussuria chattered away. They had only met that day, and yet they talked like old friends. It was… EXTREMELY… he didn't know the word to describe what it was but if he did it would have been disconcerting. At least until Fedele mentioned his girlfriend, well… girlfriends. Many girlfriends by the sound of it. The fact that Lussuria laughed loudly at every story and seemed to relate to the troubles of juggling lovers bothered him. As far as he was aware, he was Lussuria's only…

"Hey Ryohei!" Fedele called from the driver's seat. "We've arrived."

Ryohei looked up and realized that everyone was unbuckling and getting out of the car. He quickly followed suit and was soon standing outside looking around. They were across the street from a huge mansion.

"We're not after the big house," Fedele said examining the map. "We're after that little house on the back of the property" he pointed at the map. "We'll have to go on foot. Everyone, follow me."

* * *

Mikhail risked looking at the two in the back seat again. Chrome was huddled in her corner looking lost and worried clutching at her trident and in the other corner…. Levi was humming to himself staring out the window. Mikhail shuddered. They gave him the creeps, which was odd because not many people did. Being a six foot seven mountain of raw Russian muscle tended to make a person impervious to most things. The two of them were weird. Levi was a pretty big guy too, but there was something odd about him. Chrome was cute, but he didn't understand why she was on this mission.

"So, um, Chrome, what is it that you do? Exactly…" Mikhail rolled his eyes at how stupid he sounded.

"I can make illusions," She said quietly.

"OH!" Suddenly it all made sense she was one of those people… Maybe the big hairy weird guy was an illusion… no one could be that ridiculous.

The pulled over and everyone got out. They found themselves looking at a house a little bit away from a high-end neighborhood.

"Ok. We'll have to be quiet about this," Mikhail turned to the rest of the men joining them where they stood. "Everyone follow my lead."

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

With the help of an arm to steady him from Romario, Dino climbed out of the limousine. He faced the gaudy entrance to a relatively new mansion. He slowly made his way up the stairs with Romario and two other body guards following behind him, their muscles bulging under poorly fitted suits. When making calls of this sort, Dino always preferred to arrive unannounced and with more muscle than would be strictly considered polite. He made his way up the stairs of the entrance and his two body guards hurried past him and threw open the doors with a bang which reverberated around the marble entrance.

"Ah. Master Cavallone 10th, I will inform the master of the house of your arrival." The butler said failing to conceal his disapproval over Dino's blatant disregard for common politeness, barging in as though he owned the place… Which he technically did.

"No need." A voice said from the other room. "I heard him arrive." A tall well dressed, middle-aged man entered. His salt and pepper hair was neatly combed to one-side; his smile did not reach to his dark blue eyes.

"Hello, Nico," Dino said pleasantly. "I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd pay you a visit"

"I thought you'd be out looking for my daughter." He said equally as pleasantly. "It's so considerate of you to think to stop by while you must be so distraught over her kidnapping."

"Thank you. I do try to be mindful of others at all times." Dino said. He leaned heavily on his cane. "Not to be rude but do you mind if we sit down somewhere? My leg is killing me."

Nico Gaglio nodded and led them up a flight of stairs, just to be spiteful, and into his study. Dino sat down comfortably in a brown leather arm chair, Gaglio trying to conceal his annoyance sat down at his desk. Dino didn't say anything. He watched his father-in-law as though he were waiting for him to begin speaking; he was aggressively listening at him. It was disconcerting.

"As much as I appreciate this visit, I would prefer it if you were out actively searching." He said breaking the awkward stretching silence.

"Oh, come now, It's not like I would be much use out there with my gimp leg." Dino said with an airy laugh. "I have my best men on it. Tsuna, that is, Vongola 10th has even lent his support."

"Has he now?" Gaglio couldn't help but be impressed. He had grown up hearing the Vongola name spoken in awe. "That's… unusual."

"Well, you know how Tsuna has been like a little brother to me." Dino looked around. "I'm sorry to be so… intrusive, but I could do with a drink." With every tiny rudeness, he was making his father-in-law's blood pressure go up just a little bit more.

"Of course, where are my manners?" Nico pressed a button on the phone on top of his desk. "Bring in two cups of coffee."

"So, I was going over the accounts that the Cavallone family acquired after our family merger, and I noticed that the paperwork you had given me was incomplete." Dino said after he had hung up. "Would you care to comment?"

"You want to talk finances and paperwork at a time like this?" Gaglio demanded not bothering to conceal his outrage. "That seems somewhat… heartless…What kind of a person would…?"

"A thorough one." Dino said smiling. "Since I'm not much use in the search I thought I would put my time to good use."

"You can't be serious?"

"I'm afraid so."

Nico leaned back in his chair. He didn't know what to do. He had thought he had been so careful in hiding the discrepancies within the accounts. A debit here a credit there, who would notice? "Incomplete in what way?"

"In several ways. For example, from my calculations you should own several properties that are not listed in the properties acquired from the merger." Dino said seriously. "From the terms of our agreement. Cavallone obtains ownership of all properties."

"You don't get everything." Nico said harshly. "You.." He paused as the door opened and a curvy maid with a handsome face entered carrying a tray with their coffee. She sat it down on the desk and quickly made for the exit pausing only to give Romario a wink before leaving.

"Nico, need I remind you, that the Cavallone family has covered your extensive debts. Without such aid you would have had serious difficulties." Dino said dryly. "Trying to start a mafia war, must have been extremely expensive." He leaned forward and picked up his coffee cup. He could see the veins begin to pop out on his father-in-law's forehead. "You over leveraged your position." Dino inwardly marveled at the purple hue climbing up his neck. "You should have realized that with eminent war approaching debt collectors would want to consolidate their positions. Recall loans…. It was a serious miscalculation on your part." He was teetering on the edge, Dino knew it… Now for something to push him over… "It's no wonder you had to ask Victoria to approach my mother. It must have been hard for you, a proud man like yourself having to beg for someone to marry your daughter." He could almost see his patience snap.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

The kitchen was getting really crowded now. Even with the men spilling over into the living room, there were not enough seats for everyone to sit and drink their coffee. The little old lady who lived there insisted that everyone should have a cup and a cookie. Carlos glanced at Yamamoto. Neither of them was sure what to do.

"Voi!" Squalo yelled. "Get out of my way!" Pushing some of the men out of the doorway.

"Squalo!" Carlos hissed at him. He turned to the little old lady who had spilled a cup of coffee in surprise at Squalo's outburst. "I'm so sorry."

Squalo looked a little ashamed. "Cavallone must have been wrong, picking this location." He said in much quieter tones.

"Boss doesn't make mistakes," Carlos said loyally, despite all evidence. He got up from where the little old lady had seated him at the kitchen table.

"Oh, Nico! Just sit down a bit longer," She said. "You're always hurrying off."

"My… My name is Carlos ma'am," Carlos said for the fifth time. "I'm just going to…"

"The closet again? I keep asking you to change the lightbulb, but it's just not working," She babbled.

"Uh… ok…" He followed the little senile old lady watching as all the men tried to make themselves as small as possible so that they could get by.

He entered the closet. It was dark. He felt along the wall and found a lightswitch. The back panel slid to one side exposing a passage way.

"Um… mom…"

"Yes dear?" The little old lady said.

"It's an electrical problem. These men here," He motioned to the packed living room. "Are electricians and we have to take a look at this problem… Don't mind us."

"If you say so,"

Carlos rounded up Yamamoto and Squalo, they had found what they were looking for.

The secret passage had led them to a store room. It had been filled at one point but was now empty leaving only faint traces of what had once been stored there. Judging by the debris left behind they had left in a hurry and the lack of dust suggested it was a recent exit.

"There's nothing here anymore…" Carlos said holstering his gun. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

"You wouldn't understand." Nico growled he could hardly believe the insolence. "You were handed everything on a silver platter! I have worked for everything I have! My blood and sweat is in the very foundation of this family. We would have brought the mafia hierarchy to its knees!" His rage was building up a head of steam now. He stood up and began to pace behind his desk. "A spoiled, pampered little brat like you can never understand what hard work is! You've never had to sacrifice anything in your life. You don't know how to make the really hard decisions."Dino serenely blew on his coffee. It was still too hot to drink. This nonchalant action infuriated him even more. "You arrogant old family types take everything you have for granted! I spent years working my way through the business. I set up my family, I grew it. I."

"Plunged it into an all consuming chasm of debt that would have taken generations to climb out of." Dino finished his sentence for him. "So, as a way to save face and your family and stop this stupid war you were so set on, the Cavallone has swooped in to save the day." Dino smiled ruefully. "And now you have to pay the piper, which happens to be me, now I own everything. I own your house, I own your cars, I own your dog, I own your desk. I own your socks. I even own you. So, I would expect a little more respect."

"You're just like your mother." He spat.

"Now there's an insult," Dino said dryly. "You have no idea what is going on do you?"

* * *

A/N: Sorry the chapter is so short this week… I've got finals next week so hopefully everything goes well… I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Dino Cavallaro motioned to his team. They pressed themselves against the side of the warehouse. Cavallaro reached out and turning the knob opened the door. It swung inward squeaking on old hinges. He snatched his arm back. He peered inside to see a large group of soldiers all pointing their guns at his door. He moved out of the way just as a volley of bullets flew past him. Gokudera and Belphegor took that as their cue to attack. With their distraction Cavallaro and his men moved in and entered the fray.

When the dust had cleared and the shouting died down. Not a single member of the Cavallone had been hurt. Belphegor had been serious when he said he didn't need any help. He had almost single handedly disposed of their opponents. The blood spatter on the walls was evidence enough of that, if not the slashes in most of the corpses surrounding them. Cavallaro walked over to a crate in the corner of the room and levered it open. It was full of explosives. He moved to a different pile. He opened a crate, this one was full of guns and ammunition.

Cavallaro paused a moment as he stared around the room at the carnage. Bodyparts were everywhere. One of Gokudera's bombs had hit the center of a cluster of them and the results were somewhat gruesome. Gokudera himself was outside the door enjoying a quiet solitary smoke. Cavallaro took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello. Julius? We've got a mess for you to clean up."

* * *

Fedele pressed his back against the wall and sighed. It had gone very smoothly. They had found where they had been producing the explosives; in small labs in the basement, shipping them out in small quantities so as not to draw attention. The few scientists that were there weren't heavily guarded and were easily subdued. Waiting for one of Julius's teams to help clear up the mess was the only part that was left. He pulled out a cigarette as he listened to the adorable gay couple he had met that day chatter away.

"Luss! What do you extremely mean? Have you cheated before?" Ryohei shouted following after his lover.

"oh. Ryo-chan not recently don't you worry." Lussuria giggled giving him a playful slap. "Honestly you're so serious."

Fedele exhaled a smoke ring and glanced at his watch. He had a date with Marie in two hours, or was it Martha? Madaline? Sarah? Whatever her name, he hoped Julius would get a move on; he didn't want to be late.

* * *

Mikhail stared around the room. Their invasion had been neat and tidy. He had led his team into the small building and found it was full of explosives. He had then promptly led them back out and waited for the guards to follow before taking them out with a few well placed shots. Sure, not all the guards had been quite so dumb, but they were easily dealt with as they were found. There had been multiple levels and the guards had been in the process of loading equipment and some of the explosives into trucks when they arrived. Chrome had been quiet, but useful. Her illusions had drawn out the last of the guards. Levi… Well. He was weird. He had killed a few guards, but Mikhail had to tackle him and smash his face into the ground when he had started to use some of his electrical attacks. Sparks around crates of explosives…. Levi… Obviously wasn't the brightest bulb on the Varia Christmas tree. He pulled out his cell phone.

"Hello. This is Julius, please leave a message after the tone…"

Cursing fluently in a mixture of Italian and Russian, Mikhail called Cavallaro.

"What?"

"hey Junior, have you gotten a hold of Julius?"

"….Junior? really?"

"Hey. You pissed off Romario." Mikhail grinned. "You have to work to get your name back."

"Ass hole."

"Anyways, do you have Julius?"

"Yeah he's here now."

"When you're done with him send him my way."

"Will do,"

"Thanks … Junior."

"Fuck off."

"Hey, if it makes you feel better we could call you: un-wholly swiss cheese? Or how about: Paper shield, cause you're about as useful. Oh I know! The idiot who got the boss shot."

The line disconnected.

* * *

A/N: So, Mafia Games is going on hiatus for three weeks… sorry… I'll be out of the country so I won't have time to work on it. Also, I'm not totally sure if I'll have consistent access to the internet… I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Kusakabe gritted his teeth and held onto the car door as Hibari ran another red light. Hibari was angry, Tetsuya had followed Romario's plan and had delayed in telling him about the plan. The only problem being that Hibari hadn't let Kusakabe drive. He had taken the keys from him and had almost driven-off, leaving him behind on the doorstep, if it had not been for the fact that Kusakabe had the directions.

They took a sharp turn at the junction that Kusakabe indicated, and pulled up behind the estate. Kyouya got out of the car slamming the door behind him. Kusakabe disentangled himself from the seatbelt and ran to catch up to him. There was no one else with them. There had been a plan to meet a large group of men who would follow them into the lower levels of the house, but they must not have arrived yet. Timing was everything. Kusakabe frantically searched his pockets, his fingers lighted on a folded piece of paper and he pulled it out. It was a map of the estate with places marked in Dino's careful script.

"Kyo, it's this way," Kusakabe grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction of a small building tucked in behind the mansion. They made it to the door and found that it was locked. There was a keypad waiting for the proper code so that entrance could be gained. Kusakabe re-examined the map. Under where Dino had circled the building he had written six numbers. Kuskabe pushed them in and the door slid open. It was an elevator. Hibari didn't hesitate at entering and with both inside Kuskabe hit the button for the basement and they descended.

The doors opened to reveal a shadowed corridor. A long string of florescent bulbs providing uneven lighting. Hibari stepped out. The construction was fairly new, but it was possible to see where the architect had cut corners in the area of comfort or embellishments: Plain walls, plain floor, and plain Doors which lined the corridor.

"We need to figure out which room they're keeping her in." Kusakabe whispered. Hibari ignored him and strode purposefully down the hallway. It didn't matter to him if they found her or not, what mattered was who was there to fight. It took only a few steps before someone exited a room and came face to face with Hibari. A small smirk crept onto his face. This was more like it. He pulled out his tonfas and moved into a fighting stance.

"I'm going to bite you to death,"

* * *

A/N: So, Mafia Games is back on track! I am back in the country and still suffering from jet lag.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Nico glared at him from across his desk. "I think you're the one who is at a loss."

Dino smirked. "Pray tell."

Nico didn't budge.

"I know," The smirk widened into a smile. "You've bought properties! And these properties are all strategically located to attack the most powerful mafia families, my allies! And they're filled with all the goodies that you went into debt purchasing! Is that right?"

Still… nothing.

"Well, That was my guess." Dino said with a shrug. "I suppose it was too much to ask. As it is all a wild guess with no way of actually verifying as such…." He smiled. Nico seemed to relax slightly.

"Precisely." He smiled back.

"I would like to talk to you about my wife, your daughter." Dino continued. "We were left a note."

"I had heard the kidnappers hadn't made any demands yet."

"well, we didn't want to widely publicize that they demanded that I step down as Cavallone boss." Dino said seriously. "And we did capture one of the kidnappers."

"Oh?" Nico didn't look surprised at the news at all. He looked… nervous. Sweat was dripping down his face.

"Yes, he wasn't particularly helpful. But, the note was." Dino stared into Nico's eyes. "You see, only one person could benefit from my resignation. That is, until Antonio is old enough to take over."

"Who would that be?"

"You." Dino said. A scream echoed up from down stairs.

Hibari had systematically made his way through the entire basement of the building. He had found every person it was possible to find and their bodies were leaving a trail behind him. Still… He was frustrated. He had hoped that the fight would put out of his mind every annoying little emotion he had been dealing with recently, and it had, but it all came rushing back when he smashed open a door and found… _Her_ sitting there unconscious, blindfolded, and tied to a chair. Kusakabe, who had been mostly keeping out of Hibari's way rushed forward and cut her free. He grabbed her and swung her up and over his shoulder.

"Let's go."

"No," Hibari said. No further explanation was proffered. He didn't want to leave. He was sure there were more guards on upper levels. Besides… He knew where he was, he was sure that Dino would be there. He made his way back up the corridor towards the stairwell he had found earlier. He made his way up the stair with Kusakabe carrying Victoria behind him. He exited through the first door and found himself on the ground floor. There was a guard. It annoyed him how loud they screamed.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

"What was that?"

Dino glanced down at his watch. "He's a little earlier than I had expected." He sighed. "Kidnapping your own daughter… That's pathetic even for you Nico."

"I don't know what you're talking about. "

"Arrogant spoiled brat I may be, but I'm not stupid." Dino said ironically. He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. "There are 6 places she could be. And," He glanced at his watch again. "They all should be in the process of being taken care of right about now. Well… All but one, we took that one out last night."

"This is ridiculous." Nico laughed.

"The thing is, turns out I DID find a way to verify my suspicions." He leaned forward seriously. "It's called logical deduction Nico." He smiled. "I was able to ascertain the whereabouts of the properties we were discussing." Dino's smile didn't move. "They're all over the place, in strategic areas to strike against the upper echelons of mafia society. Looks like I was right."

The smile froze on Nico's face. He tried to cover it by taking his first sip of his now stone cold coffee.

"Indeed." Dino set his coffee cup back down. Resting his elbows on the arms of the chair he steepled his fingers infront of him. He stared for a moment at his father-in-law. "Brutus. Ivan. Would you be so kind as to keep Mr. Gaglio from impeding Romario in searching his desk?"

The two masses of muscle posing as guards moved forward and asserted themselves between Nico and his desk. Romario took his cue and began searching through drawers.

"You bastard." Nico swung a punch at Ivan, who caught it and bent his arm backwards. Nico gave in and Brutus and Ivan held him so that he faced Dino.

Dino rose from his chair and walked over so that he was face to face with Nico.

"To think that you were still planning on carrying out your little warpath." Dino said. "You weren't expecting the trouble with your cashflow. It must have come as such a relief when you found out that Victoria's children were mine." Dino paused for a moment looking into his face. "You couldn't have found out until a few months ago, because I didn't even find out until then. And I know that mother paid her well to keep her mouth shut." Dino took a step forward so that he was in the other man's personal space. "You are a despicable piece of shit using your own grandchildren as pawns."

Nico spat in Dino's face. Dino grabbed Nico's tie and wiped his spit off of his cheek.

"No call to be so uncivilized." Dino growled. "you wanted me to step down from my position. So that I would have all the heads in one easy place…. Hell, it didn't even matter if I stepped down did it? Just the rumor that I might, would be toxic. Even so, you were still planning on attacking today…So. Who else is involved in your little war effort?"

"Go to hell, fucking fag,"

Dino's composure broke he took his cane, and swinging it like a baseball bat, hit him hard across the chest, causing ribs to audibly crack. Nico sagged forwards, completely winded.

"Say that again and I will kill you." Dino said his voice absolutely calm.

"Apologize," Brutus rumbled shaking him.

"I'm… I'm sorry," Nico coughed causing scarlet blood to ooze down his chin

"Here is the part that really bothers me. I marry your daughter. I pay off all your debts. I spend countless hours in meetings with you and your smarmy allies; I did everything that I had to do to solve this problem. I spend all that time working towards a peaceful solution and guess what I find out?"

He watched Nico's carefully neutral expression.

"Go on. Guess."

Nico still said nothing.

"You're attempting to go ahead with the war anyways. You tried to take advantage of my generosity. You try to fuck with my family." Dino leaned closer to him, his lips millimeters from Nico's ear, his voice barely audible he whispered. "No one fucks with my family." He slammed the end of his cane into Gaglio's side grinding it into already damaged ribs. "You thought with her gone I would have everything. I could go back to the lifestyle I had before marriage. You thought I wouldn't even try…. You thought I wouldn't go after my _wife_. You thought I'd make the pretense of trying and that's it… You arrogant little prick. " He ground his cane into Gaglio's ribs with each of the last four words, letting his anger get the better of him. If anything the idea that anyone would think that he would abandon a member of his family was more insulting and infuriating to Dino than anything else Gaglio had done.

"Alex wasn't captured. You left him behind, and gave him bad information as to where Victoria was taken. That place you sent me was usually manned 24/7. Then all of a sudden there was no one guarding it? Strange. I noticed you left a woman there, who looked almost identical to Victoria who was cut into pieces. It would have been so easy to take her body home as proof of her death and then end the investigation there. Victoria would be safe and out of harm's way for your strike. I bet you had it set up so a DNA test would come back as a match. If I hadn't cared, I wouldn't have noticed your little war effort."

"You just had to have it all your way. The solution provided you status, power, money. But you weren't in charge. It was your way or no way." He took a step back. "Give me the names of your allies and I won't torture you,"

Nico looked up. "Aren't you supposed to let me live if I tell you?"

Dino shook his head. "I'm a man of my word. I would be lying to you if I told you I would let you live. But, if you cooperate I'll make it a quick painless death."

Nico was still able to manage a glare. "Well so am I. I'm a man of my word I will never tell you the names of anyone who helped me."

"Fair enough." Dino shrugged. He pulled out his gun and shot Nico in the stomach.

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry I missed a week. Things have been super crazy here. I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Hibari was enjoying himself. There were a lot more people on this floor. The casualty toll was mounting and he was searching for more opponents in each room he entered. A gunshot echoed down from the floor above, and Hibari ignored it. He had a feeling he knew who fired it. He would go and see soon enough, as it is… He was having too much fun.

* * *

Ivan and Brutus dropped him and he fell forwards, blood spewing from his wound staining the carpet. Dino nodded to the two of them and they rolled Nico over onto his back. His extremities were twitching and his was sucking air.

"That's got to hurt Nico," Dino knelt down next to him. "You know you can live for _hours_ with a stomach wound like that…" He examined the hole in his shirt. "Not a very big hole…" He took the end of his cane and poked at it. Nico gasped and screamed in agony. "So… The names?"

Nico didn't say anything. Romario was impressed despite himself. He had finished searching the desk and had come up empty. He was now moving around the office looking for a safe, or anything that would have any clue to Gaglio's cohorts.

Dino sighed and thrust the end of his cane into the hole, which was not large enough for his cane to slide into easily, and he moved it around a bit. Gaglio screamed again, tears pouring down his face.

"Oh god." He moaned. "It wasn't my idea…." He suddenly seized up. Dino looked at him confused. He removed his cane from his stomach.

"Nico?" He felt for a pulse. Nothing.

"Well… Shit," Dino said. He tried to stand, but the end of his cane was slick with Gaglio's blood. Ivan bent down and picked him up and set him on his feet. "Thanks."

"Father!"

Dino spun around slipping in the blood and falling backwards into Ivan who caught him and set him back up on his feet. Victoria was standing in the doorway leaning slightly against Kusakabe for support. He gave Dino an apologetic look. Hibari was already in the room leaning against the wall next to the door.

"Victoria! What… are you doing here?" Dino asked glaring pointedly at Hibari.

"I heard my father screaming!" She shouted. She moved forward unsteadily, whatever had been used to knock her out was still causing her to move sluggishly. She made it to his side and fell to her knees beside him, crying.

"God damn it Kyouya!" Dino yelled switching to Japanese, a language that only two other people in the room spoke. "Why didn't you just leave?"

Hibari said nothing. He stood there silently.

"Victoria? Come on get up. We need to get out of here." Dino said switching back to Italian. He tried to bend down and grab her arm but she pushed him away. He sighed. "Brutus grab her. Let's get out of here."

"Don't you dare touch me!" She screamed as Brutus picked her up and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Dino made to leave, but his cane was still slipping out from under him. He grabbed onto the side of the desk for support to stop his fall. He found a box of tissues on the desk and used them to wipe the blood off of his cane. His eyes lighted on Gaglio's coffee cup. Curiosity mounting he picked it up and sniffed it. It smelled of almonds.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome. I'm really sorry that I haven't posted in a while. Things here have been really crazy lately… So my posting may become more sporadic. I'll try to get back on a more normal schedule, but I don't know when that will be…


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

The entire group made it out of the mansion and to the car with little trouble. Hibari and Kusakabe separated at the first floor to take their own vehicle. Dino settled into his seat across from a fuming Victoria and pulled out his cell phone.

"Hello? Julius…. Yes. I need you here right away… Yes, I know you're busy. Also, could you analyze what was in the coffee cups in the office? Thanks … No. I'm not taking you for granted…. Yes. I will pay you extra for this. … No, this is not something I plan on making a habit of. …" Dino glanced at Romario who rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sorry. You only have one pair of hands…. Well… At least Janine is at her sister's so … oh. I'm sorry to hear that… with her brother-in-law…. Really?... Buttons? … No I'm not making light of it. … ah… well… as soon as possible please… Thanks."

"Do I want to know boss?"

"No… no you don't…" Dino grimaced. "I didn't even want to know… and I want to know everything about everyone."

"How can you be…. So NORMAL about all of this?" Victoria screeched. She hadn't said a word since entering the car. She had sat there and glared at Dino possibly hoping he would feel pressured to tell her everything. Little did she know Dino had had to deal with glares his entire life and hers was hardly the worst he'd been subjected to.

"What do you mean?" Dino had to remind himself to be patient with her. Despite having grown up with a mafia family he knew that her father had sheltered her from it her entire life.

"You… You killed him!"

"No…no, I didn't."

"You deny shooting him?"

"I did shoot him and if you must know I tortured him a little too before he died." He was getting annoyed. He didn't want to deal with this. _Damn it Kyouya_. "He kidnapped you. He threatened my.. _OUR_ family. He was setting up a war. Stop being so juvenile!"

"He was my father!" Her anger was spilling over into tears now. She couldn't believe this. He was justifying murdering her father. How could anyone have deserved….

When she had regained consciousness, she had found herself slung over a large Japanese man's shoulder. Hibari, her husband's former lover, had seen her and she could remember the smirk on his face. He had led them up the stairs and she could hear her father screaming. They had followed the sound and found her father's office. They watched as Dino slammed his cane into a hole in his stomach and she watched her father die. How could she forgive something like that?

"Did you know that he was going to continue with his stupid war plans? Did you know that he was going to attack us and our allies?" Dino demanded.

"You KILLED my FATHER!"

"I didn't kill him."

"Oh then what were you doing? He was on the floor and you had your cane… inside him."

Dino buried his face in his hands. This was getting ridiculous. He knew this needs kinder hands than his right now. He needed to delegate. "Romario you explain."

"Boss?" Romario looked shocked.

"I can't do it right now. You do it."

"Excuse me?" Victoria screeched. "You will not push me aside like that!"

Dino didn't say anything. He didn't even move.

"Boss…" Romario poked Dino. He switched to Japanese. "I don't think she'll accept an explanation from me… You can't avoid this."

"Fuck this. I needed information. What was I supposed to do? He wasn't just going to tell me."

"I wish I'd never married you." Victoria's beautiful face contorted with rage.

"Yeah well, then maybe you should have just aborted when you had the chance and then we wouldn't be in this mess." Dino shot back.

Shock and silence fell heavily over the entire vehicle. Even with the privacy divider up Brutus and Ivan could hear the entire argument from the front seats, especially since they had cracked it a little. Romario found he was holding his breath.

Victoria was momentarily lost for words. "I … I hope you didn't mean that…"

Dino felt ashamed of himself. "Of course I didn't… I love Davide and Dimitrio."

"You know, their grandfather loved them too…" Victoria just couldn't stop herself.

"Yeah sure he did." Dino sneered sarcastically his anger boiling up again. He leaned forward. "He kidnapped you. Yeah he did it to get you out of harm's way, but he didn't even bother to raise a finger to protect Davide or Dimitrio. He didn't bother to even consider the well being of his own grandchildren."

Victoria looked shocked. "Don't you dare try to vilify him. He loved them both!"

Dino sat back angrily. "Sure he did. Enough to let them die with their half brother and sisters."

"He would NEVER hurt a child! OR his family!"

"Yeah? Did you know he was using his own mother's house as a place to store his weapons? That's a funny way to keep someone out of danger: making them a target."

The car pulled to a stop outside the Cavallone estate and Dino was out of the limo. He slammed the car door in his anger and had he not been hindered by his injured leg would have stormed up the stairs and inside. Never the less he did the best he could by slamming his cane down on each step he passed.

"What is going on?" His mother demanded as he limped past her.

"Why don't you go and ask my fucking wife?" Dino shot back not even bothering to slow down. He made his way to his office and disappeared inside. The sound of his door slamming reverberated throughout the mansion.

Romario sighed. He watched Victoria, storm much more effectively up the stairs and inside. He got out of the car and watched as Brutus and Ivan drove it around to the garage.

Tetsuya pulled up next to him and rolled the window down. Hibari exited out of the front passenger seat and headed towards the mansion.

"Where do you want me to park? There's a blinker out." Tetsuya said leaning out of the driver side window; giving him a small smile and a meaningful look.

"I'll show you. " Romario said taking Hibari's vacated seat. He directed Kusakabe towards the garage where they stored the cars that needed maintenance.

Tetsuya pulled into the garage and parked the car.

"There isn't a blinker out is there….?" Romario asked leaning over and kissing him.

Tetsuya grinned sheepishly. "Was I that obvious?"

Romario shrugged and kissed him again.

"um… Romario…. I'm worried… since Kyouya and Dino aren't… you know… I don't think I'll be here as often…." Tetsuya frowned.

Romario sighed and took Kusakabe's hand and squeezed it slightly. "Don't worry… We'll figure something out."

"really?"

"yeah… besides…" Romario leaned forward and nibbling on Kusakabe's earlobe barely whispered. "Boss has a plan…"

"Wha…?"

Romario interrupted him with a kiss. "shhhhh…"

Romario felt guilty. He could see the hope in Tetsuya's eyes. He felt cruel for putting it there… for letting him believe that everything was going to work out. The guilt had been building ever since Kusakabe had told him he wanted to start a family. he kissed his lover passionately reveling in the feeling of his body against his as Tetsuya straddled him. Romario loved Kusakabe more than anyone else…. He wanted to be there for him… For the rest of his life. He wanted to be with him, but…. Dino did have a plan…. And Romario understood better than anyone else what it meant. This is why he let himself get lost in Tetsuya. He let himself forget about what the future would probably entail; Romario pushed all thoughts about everything but Tetsu out of his head as he took him in the car.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

A/N 2: YAY! Finally posted the next chapter. :D and it's a little longer than usual so that's something to be excited about. Thank you for being so understanding about the random postings.


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Hibari made his way through the mansion. He knew where he wanted to go, but his pride delayed his journey there. His veins were still infused with adrenaline from the fight and he wanted more than anything to celebrate his victory in his usual manner, but… He knew that Dino would not be willing. Never the less the fight had put him in a very good mood. He looked up and found that his feet had automatically taken him outside Dino's office door. He hesitated, uncertain. He could hear noises coming from inside the office. There was a lot of rustling of papers, banging of drawers, and some cursing in Italian. He shrugged and opened the door.

Dino was limping around, sorting through papers. He was so engrossed in his work he had not noticed the door was ajar. Hibari stood and watched him move clumsily around his room and wondered when he would look up and see him. Unfortunately he never got the satisfaction of seeing the look on Dino's face. Dino had discarded his cane in a fit of frustration, letting it fall to the floor as he moved stacks from the ground to the filing cabinets lining the walls. He had been putting too much weight on his bad leg and Hibari watched as it wobbled and gave out.

In one graceful movement Hibari stepped forward, shutting the door behind him, and caught Dino before he hit the ground. There was a moment of closeness where Hibari pulled him to his feet and he could smell Dino's cologne and feel the shape of his body under his suit. He gave into the wicked desire and hugged Dino close to him, burying a hand in his soft hair and leaning his head against his shoulder. He was surprised to feel the pressure of Dino's arms wrap around him and return the intimate embrace.

"Thanks Kyouya…" Dino said pulling away. He took a step back and leaned against a filing cabinet for support. "So… um… I wanted to say thank you… for… helping with rescuing…. Er…Taking down the Gaglio family."

Kyouya shrugged. There wasn't anything else to say. He let the silence drag out as he studied Dino's face. "You're upset… Victoria?"

"Yeah… We… had a fight," Suddenly his oddly blank expression changed as his eyes blazed angrily for a moment. "You should have just taken her and gone."

"She needed to be taught what life in this business is like."

"Well, I doubt she'll want to continue 'life in this business'" He said letting the inverted comas clang into place. "She's already regretting marrying me." He grimaced.

"A divorce?"

"Probably, or an annulment…." He sighed. He felt absolutely odious. He glanced at Kyouya's impassive face and continued sourly. "You should be happy then. I'd be free."

"You think I'd want you back?" Hibari said bitterly. "A cheater like you?"

"What?" Dino was shocked and genuinely hurt. "I… I didn't cheat!"

"I didn't even know you were getting married until I got the invitation in the mail."

"I called you countless times! I called Tetsuya and told him to have you call me! It's not my fault you don't answer your goddamned phone when you know it's me!" Dino could feel the anger bubbling back through him, mixing with his anger at Victoria. "I finally just wrote you a fucking letter. And you didn't even bother to read it! I sent it months ago!"

"I never got it," Hibari's eyes narrowed dangerously, he did not appreciate being yelled at. "If it was important you would have left a message."

"I left you messages to call me back!" Dino ran a hand through his hair trying to get a grip on himself and failing. "It's a wonder I stayed with you for as long as I did. You treated me like shit Kyouya!" He wanted to storm out, but his leg could barely stand the weight he was putting on it as it was. He settled for looking away from him trying to convey that he was done talking.

"You have no right to be angry with me Cavallone. You're the one who randomly decides to get married. You even go out of your way to have people keep it from me." He stepped forward so that he was in Dino's personal space and grabbed his hair, forcing him to look him in the eye. "Don't try to pretend you're the victim here. I did try to call you back. I kept getting a strange message… It was very frustrating." He pulled on Dino's hair to emphasize the word. He leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Do you think I've only been using you for sex?" Hibari nibbled on his ear lobe, usually a definite means of distraction, but Dino was having none of it. He forcefully shoved Hibari away from him.

"Perhaps… Since you're such a frozen bastard any indication of affection would be impossible for you…" He grimaced. He sounded like such a girl. When had this happened to him? He was supposed to be on the other side of this argument.

Hibari gave him a hard look. "If you disliked the way I treated you…You never complained before." The dejected look on Dino's face forced Mukuro's words to float to the top of Hibari's brain. _How could anyone love a pathetic creature like me…_ The shocked look on Dino's face caused, Hibari to pause. He had just said that out loud.

"Kyouya…." Dino was at a loss for words. He had no idea how to handle what Hibari had just said. It was unreal. Hibari spun on his heel and left, slamming the door behind him. He did not want to face that wretched look of sympathy on Dino's face.

* * *

Victoria threw herself on her bed. She hated Dino. Just now it was all she could think of. She hated him for killing her father; despite his denial. She could remember clearly the image of him plunging his cane into her father's stomach. It was burnt into her brain like a brand into flesh.

There was a light knock at the door and a pause before someone entered.

"Go away."

"Now Victoria, that is no way to speak to your mother-in-law."

"Go away Vedette,"

Mrs. Vedette Cavallone sighed and sat down next to her.

"There comes a time in every woman's life where she realizes that every man she knows is a bastard."

Victoria didn't respond. She tried to ignore her mother-in-law.

"So which one was it? Your father or your husband?"

She sniffled. "Dino….He killed my father."

Vedette nodded sagely, her normally cold-stone mask was replaced with a warmer empathetic version.

"So who do you love more?"

"What?" Victoria couldn't believe her ears. She turned to face her. "I wish I had never married Dino. If I could I would take it all back to save my father's life!"

Victoria would have continued, but Vedette raised a finger and stopped her mid-thought.

"Who do you love more? Your father? Or your children?"

"You're not making sense!"

Vedette continued as though she wasn't interrupted. "Choice one: If you love your father more you will leave Dino get an annulment, take your children and the massive amount of debt your father accumulated and go. You will never see Dino again, but then you will never see solvency again either. You will be poor and miserable with two hungry mouths to feed and no help. You can forget about that generous monthly stipend I have been paying you these last three years. You will be poor, but you will have your pride."

Victoria opened her mouth to protest, but was once again interrupted.

"Choice two: You love your children more. You stay with Dino. He provides for you. You have the life of luxury you've always dreamed of. You can easily support and feed your children. They will have everything they need. They will have education, privilege, opportunities…."

She watched as Victoria did the mental math; tears still flowing in long lines down her cheeks.

"It's not perfect, but it's the best you can possibly hope for." She patted her hand in what she thought was a kind manner. "At least he pretends to love you,"

"What do you mean by that? Dino loves me."

She laughed bitterly. "You think so? You think that he isn't pretending you're someone else whenever you make love? You've never heard him … I don't know… mutter another person's name or as soon as he's done with you take a shower to wash your stench off of him? Well… if not then he's a better actor than I thought." She sighed and looked at Victoria's shocked expression. "Well, at least you're not humiliated by his actions. He's keeping them secret enough… As it is… I think only maybe… 3 people know of his deception… Aside from himself of course…. It would be me, Romario, and of course the object of his real affection. And now you… so that makes it four."

"You mean… He's having an affair?... Already?" Victoria began to sob again.

"What? Physically? No. Dino is an honest man…" Vedette seemed to lose focus for a moment. "I don't know where he got that from…" she shook herself back to the conversation at hand. "All in all, be glad you have some… assets. That pretty face … Did you honestly think that it was enough to make him fall for you in so little time? As I understand it your children are a product of one of his… famous… one-night stands… And in these last six months you believe he's fallen for you? When for the last three years he couldn't even remember your name?"

"He didn't even…remember my name?" She said quiet tears still pouring down her face.

"Seriously? How obtuse can you be?" Vedette stood up. "You have him physically as long as you stay and you have comfort and security, and who knows… maybe in time he'll grow to love you too."

With that she left, flinging open the door and stepping out into the corridor running into Gokudera and Yamamoto who had been loitering in the hallway.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked pointedly, sizing them up. "You are the Vongola Right Hand… Hayato Gokudera?"

Gokudera nodded, he had heard rumors of Dino's mother.

"I know your father. Just the other day he was telling me that he hadn't heard from you for a long time."

"We… Don't talk much…" Gokudera clinched his jaw tightly.

"There's a pity," she looked at him as though seeing straight through him. "I'll let him know you're…" She glanced at Yamamoto next to him pointedly. "Keeping busy…" She walked off.

There was an exhalation of air from Yamamoto as the tension in the atmosphere lifted.

"What the hell was that all about?"

"You mean just then or that whole conversation we just over heard?" Gokudera said in Japanese hoping that no one close would understand.

"All of it… What did she mean… object real… something? I didn't catch all of that…" They started walking down the hall towards Dino's office.

"I guess Dino's in love with someone else? I don't really know… Maybe she's referring to his first wife…" Gokudera said thoughtfully.

"Wait what?" Yamamoto stopped mid-stride. "Dino had a wife before now?"

"Yeah… I think her name was Carren or something… Carmen! I didn't know her, but I was working for the Vongola at the time and went to her funeral… a little over four years ago …"

"She died?" Yamamoto looked horrified.

"Yeah… It was a big deal since she was the Horse's wife. Everybody went. It was one of the saddest things I've ever seen." He frowned, thinking back to the grave site where Dino stood in the front with his three daughters all dressed in black. The two younger girls didn't seem to know what was going on, but the crying of the oldest one set them off bawling. Romario tried to calm the younger ones down while the older girl wouldn't stop. Dino stood silently holding her, a deadened look in his eyes, while she kicked and flailed at him to let her go and to keep them from burying her mother. He took her relentless assault, but could muster no words of comfort for her. "Towards the end, after everyone left he had a break down." As everyone was leaving Romario had tactfully taken the girls to give Dino a moment alone with the casket before they lowered it into the ground. Without the heavy gazes of everyone on him holding him in place he slowly caved-in on himself. "I had had to go back because I dropped my lighter and I saw him… He just… crumpled… It was a week before anyone saw him again."

"You're kidding…."

"No." Gokudera leaned against the wall and pulled out a cigarette. "There were a lot of rumors flying around about what had happened to him. Some thought he committed suicide." He lit up and took a puff. "He came back out, good as new. Could hardly tell anything happened…"

"What… That's it?"

"Hey, it's the nature of the game. He's a boss; he couldn't afford to let things go."

They started walking again, their footsteps echoing slightly in the deserted hallway. As they approached Dino's office door they saw it suddenly open as Hibari stalked out slamming the door behind him.

"Whoa! Hibari!" Yamamoto said as he pushed past them. "What…" He began but didn't get to finish as Hibari did not break stride, but continued angrily down the hallway. "What's wrong with him?"

Gokudera shrugged and pushed open the door to Dino's office. They found him leaning heavily on a filing cabinet.

"Hey, is everything ok?" Yamamoto asked stepping carefully inside trying not to step on any of the papers that had been scattered all over the floor.

"Yeah…" Dino said coming back to reality. "Everything is fine… Would you mind handing me my cane… it's just there by your foot…"

Yamamoto picked up the cane and handed it to Dino, who leaned heavily on it.

"What can I do for you two?" Dino said, limping over to his desk and sitting down heavily in his chair. He opened the bottom drawer and groaned as he propped his sore leg up on it.

"We were told to report to you about what happened." Gokudera said.

"Don't worry about it, my people will clue me in as to what went on." Dino leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Dino, there were no weapons at our location," Yamamoto said worriedly. "They had been recently moved."

Dino pinched the bridge of his nose, it'd been a trying day. "I know. Don't worry about it, the situation is under control now."

There was a pattern of fast footsteps and a tall- teenage boy, about 17, appeared in the door panting.

"Don Cavallone 10th, sir!" He wheezed, straightening up and taking in large gulps of air, trying to regain some composure before his boss.

"What is it Jake?" Dino asked not opening his eyes or moving.

"It's the prisoner sir…. He's dead sir…"

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

A/N 2: I missed posting last week so this is two in one. There has been a lot going on recently so I'm sorry for the lack of consistency (posting-wise).


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Dino found himself bending over another dead body. Two in one day, and he'd killed neither. He stared down at Alex's face. Someone had closed his eyes.

"What happened?" He said gravely. Jake stood uncertainly behind his fellow Cavallone members. No one spoke. Dino felt his patience snap. "What THE FUCK happened?" They all exchanged worried looks. Finally someone was silently appointed as the spokesperson, and as the oldest member with the least amount to lose, 'Old' Ivan was pushed forward.

"We don't know sir." Old Ivan said, moving his dentures around in his mouth thoughtfully. He had had them specially made and their silver pointed teeth glinted evilly in the low light.

"You don't know?" Dino said incredulously. "How do you NOT know? Did you all just decide to take a break and leave him on his own?"

"No, sir," Old Ivan continued unfazed. "We think he must have been poisoned sir. Possibly during lunch…."

"Shit." Dino said. He went to stand, leaning heavily on his cane for support. "Ivan," Another much larger man, his body guard from earlier that day, stepped forward. "No. Not you Big Ivan… Old Ivan." Old Ivan straightened up. "Old Ivan, I want you to go to the kitchens, take a few men with you, and question the staff, find out who handled his meals." Old Ivan nodded and departed.

Dino sighed, things kept getting worse. He limped out of the room. He stood facing the staircase that led up to the rest of the house. _Why was his house all stairs? _He thought bitterly tackling each step individually._ I should really put in an elevator… _

He finally made it to his office and collapsed on the couch, not even bothering to move all the papers. It really was a nice couch, all soft leather and squishy stuffing. He buried his face in a cushion. He had a lot of fond memories regarding this couch… Like the time Kyouya…. He was asleep before he could even finish the thought.

He had no idea how long he had been asleep, when a small hand poking him sharply in the ribs woke him up.

"wha?" He said into the cushion. "Who else has died?"

"Daddy, you need to wake up."

He turned his head and saw that Carlotta was standing next to him her hand hovering over him waiting to poke him again.

"Hm? What is it pumpkin?" Dino sat up groggily, papers crinkling under him.

"Grandma says you need to get ready for the party." Carlotta looked up at him.

"What party?" He said rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"AAAAW! LOTTA!" Antonio came running in. "How'd you find him?"

Lotta smirked, and it struck Dino how reminiscent it was of Hibari's. "Told you I'd find him first, Toni"

"But we're not supposed to go into Daddy's office!" Antonio pouted. "That's cheating!"

"No it's not!" She stuck her tongue out at him. "You're just mad you owe me 5 more Euros now!"

"Hey! Guys!" Dino said. "Calm down. Lotta. What party are you talking about?"

Carlotta shrugged. "I dunno. Grandma said you have to get ready to go."

Dino groaned. He grabbed his cane and stood up painfully. Antonio didn't help things when he came over and pulled on Dino's pant leg.

"What is it Toni?" Dino asked balancing precariously. Antonio looked up at him with his big blue eyes and put on his most adorable face.

"Can I borrow five Euros?" He blinked his eyes, so much like his mother's, and tried to look as pathetic and innocent as possible. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease…"

"It's 'may I borrow five Euros' and no, if you're going to make bets with your sister you'll have to use your own money." Dino began to limp towards the door. Carlotta laughed and poked her brother.

"Hey! Daddy daddy daddy daddy daddy."

"What? Toni,"

"MAY I borrow five Euros?" He grinned hugely up at him.

"No!"

* * *

Apparently the party for the evening was going forward as planned. Hibari stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy towel around his waist. He had calmed down from the argument with Cavallone, but he was still burning inside from anger. He grabbed another towel and began toweling off his hair. He studied his reflection in the mirror. He looked pale and tired. He threw the towel on the floor and ran his finger through his wet hair combing out the tangles. He needed to get it cut.

There was a soft knock at the door and before he could react it opened. Sasagawa stuck his head in.

"Hey ass-face!" He entered. "Thought you might need something to cheer you up!" He proffered a bottle of amber liquid.

Hibari stepped out of the bathroom and said nothing. The last thing he wanted right now was a drink. He was still feeling nauseous from the night before.

"Go away." He said simply, walking over to the dresser and pulling out clothes and stacking them on the bed.

"What are you doing?"

Hibari ignored him and continued emptying drawers.

"Are you packing?"

"Yes, I'm packing." Hibari picked out a pair of pants and a shirt and set them aside from the other stacks. Sasagawa continued to watch him silently. Hibari grabbed a pair of underwear from one pile and was about to remove his towel when he became very self-consciously aware that Sasagawa was still watching him.

"Do you mind?"

"Sorry," Ryohei blushed slightly. He looked away and poured a small amount of the bottle into the two glasses he brought with him.

"Are you going to the party tonight?" he asked setting Hibari's glass on top of the dresser next to him.

Hibari said nothing; he grabbed a pair of dress pants from a pile and slipped them on.

The silence from his companion never fazed Sasagawa. He looked dejectedly into his glass and continued. "I think Luss cheated on me…" Ryohei took a drink from his glass

Hibari glanced over at him. Unbidden, a foreign wave of sympathy washed over him. He took his glass from the dresser and took a sip and grimaced. "What is this?"

Ryohei shrugged. "I don't know. I extremely found it in Rostomino's desk,"

"You mean Romario?"

"That's what I extremely said."

He took a drink and felt the liquid burn its way down his throat and pool in his stomach. He coughed.

"I… Don't know what to do…" Ryohei continued swirling the liquid in the glass.

Hibari could already feel the alcohol's effect, warmth spread across his cheeks. "At least you have someone, herbivore." He looked over his shoulder to see who had spoken and realized it had been him. He set his glass down hurriedly. He did not want to be drunk at the party: his last chance to see Dino before he returned to Japan. The memory of the last time he had imbibed still burnt a hot trail of embarrassment through his mind. He grabbed a dress shirt and put it on carefully buttoning it.

"Hibari… I…" Ryohei was completely thrown by Hibari responding, generally their conversations were extremely one-sided. "So you've given up on Dino?"

"Get out." He didn't want to talk anymore. The question had been a slap to the face, because he hadn't given up yet. Not entirely. Despite Dino being married, despite having rescued his wife, despite all common sense and logic Hibari still found himself hoping. He felt himself becoming everything that he hated: a clingy, annoying herbivore. This was it. This party was to be the last time he would ever lay eyes on Dino again. He was going to force himself to forget about him completely.

Ryohei perked up slightly. "Oh... So you extremely haven't given up yet?"

Hibari hated how Ryohei could be unexpectedly intuitive. "Get. Out." He said dangerously. He picked up his tonfas. He was in no mood to deal with this.

Sasagawa raised his hands in placation. He grabbed the bottle and left Hibari to his thoughts. Hibari slammed the door behind him and returned to his packing. He finished putting everything away and glanced at the clock. He still had more than an hour before he had to be anywhere. He sighed. He should probably go and say goodbye to the kids before he left, since he wasn't going to have time tomorrow. He was planning on altering his ticket and catching the first flight to Japan. If he left without saying goodbye Catalina would never forgive him.

He left the room and made his way to the main building. He pushed his hands into his pockets as his thoughts filled with memories of times with Dino and his children. He hadn't expected to find Dino's children so charming. It had been half a year after first meeting Dino before he knew that he had been married and had children. Since meeting them they had grown on him to become important parts of his life. He had grown to love them like they were his own. He had always had a weakness for small cute things… and Dino's children were adorable.

He frowned, unsure as to what he was going to do now that he and Dino were… not together… He was still having problems grasping this new reality. He knew that Carlotta still wanted him around, and he was sure the others felt the same… but… visiting them would mean seeing Dino… that would be awkward… He didn't know how much of that he could take. He stopped himself. Did he seriously think that he would let Cavallone keep him from doing exactly what he wanted to? He wasn't one of the Horse's many herbivores to be pushed around. He was not going to let anyone keep him from doing exactly at he pleased.

He entered the living room of the main mansion and there were the kids, watched carefully by a combination of their nanny, Gretchen, of whom Hibari thought very little and Carlos, who was not quite as herbivorous. Carlotta and Toni weren't there. He looked around to see if he had missed them. Catalina noticed his entrance first and jumped up from where she had been coloring with her siblings on the floor and rushed over to him. He knelt down so he could give her a proper hug and noticed too late that she had been using glitter. She hugged him tightly and when she let go of him he knew that he was covered in sparkles. Great.

"Uncle Kyouya!" Isabella and the twins came over to greet him. Isabella gave him a hug, but the twins hung back shyly.

"I thought you weren't scared anymore!" Catalina said pushing Dimitrio forward.

"Am Not!" Davide said and he walked over to Hibari and gave him a hug. Dimitrio followed behind his brother still a little shyly. Hibari couldn't help but be amused.

"We were coloring," Isabella said smiling. She held up a picture of a yellow oblong with wings and an orange beak. It actually wasn't bad; he could at least tell what it was supposed to be.

"That's a pretty good Hibird Bella," He said studying the picture. A door opened behind him and he somehow knew who it was without the exclamation from the twins.

"MOMMY!" They shouted and ran over to her giving her big bear hugs.

"My Angels!" She bent down and hugged them close. Hibari watched as she broke the hug and sat back and looked at her boys. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at them. "Did you have a good day today?"

"Yeah!" Davide spoke up immediately. "Gretchen let us play in the garden and Toni scared these birds and they flew up in the air everywhere! And one pooped on Dimitrio!" He giggled.

"Got my shoe…" Dimitrio said.

"Then Me and Dimitrio and Bella and Lina colored pictures!" Davide cut his brother off.

"Sounds like a busy day!" She said.

Hibari felt a tug on his jacket he looked down to see Catalina's face staring up at him. "Uncle Kyouya! Look at my picture!" She held up a misshapen rainbow colored thing with yellow circled around one end. "It's very nice Lina…" He stared at it. He cocked his head to one side, then the other. "What is it?"

"It's a princess butterfly!"

Victoria's head whipped around at the sound of his voice. She had been so focused on seeing her children that she hadn't noticed him off to the side.

"What are you doing here?" She said coldly.

Hibari straightened up trying to ignore that his lower half was glittery and gave her a look with as much distain he could possibly convey. . "I'm visiting my carnivores." He said stolidly.

She stood up and tried to return his glare point for point. "You have no…." she began, but the doors banged open and Toni came running in.

"NEW MOTHER!" He yelled running towards Victoria. He tried to slow down but he tripped up over his feet and went tumbling into her. "NEW MOTHER! GRANDMA SAID YOU NEED TO GO GET READY FOR THE PARTY! HAHA!" He pumped a fist into the air. "FOUND YOU FIRST!"

Carlotta came running in after him. She saw him on the floor by Victoria grinning and stopped. She crossed her arms and pouted. "No fair you pushed me"

"Toni, inside voices," Victoria said. "What party?"

"Shouldn't you know?" Carlotta said still glaring at her brother. "Grandma just said you need to get ready."

"Fine." Victoria sighed. "I'll be right back boys," She gave her sons each a kiss and left.

Kyouya watched her go.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome. :)

A/N 2: Wow... it's been way too long since I've posted a chapter. Thank you everyone for your support. This semester has been crazy.


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Victoria made her way back through the house and to her bedroom. She pushed the door open to see Dino standing in the middle of the room in a pair of slacks and shirtless.

"Hey Victoria," He said awkwardly leaning against the bed post for support. "I… was just getting out of the shower… I'll get dressed and get out of your way..."

"No it's ok… I just need to change…" She said walking over to the closet. "Your mother doesn't like to alter her schedule for anything."

Dino gave her an ironic smile. "You don't want to spend all evening in uncomfortable clothes answering questions about the kidnapping?" He put on the dress shirt and began buttoning it.

Victoria stiffened. She pulled a dress out of the closet and threw it on the bed. "And what should I say about that Dino?"

"What do you mean? Tell them the truth."

"oh? Should I tell them that my father kidnapped me and then you killed him?"

Dino winced. "You could leave off that last part."

"I don't know. Dino. This… This is…."She had no idea what to say. Too many things were running through her mind.

"You're done… Aren't you." Dino said quietly. "You're… through with me. With… us…"

Victoria sighed and sat down on the bed. "No… I'm not leaving you."

Dino looked up, surprised.

"I… I love you Dino…" She said quietly. "and the kids love you… and… I don't want to separate them from their father…" She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Dino returned the embrace hugging her close to him and stroking her hair. "Do you love me too?"

The question hit Dino in the face. He didn't want to lie anymore, but he couldn't tell her the truth… he settled for the middle ground.

"In a way…" Dino said quietly. She pulled away from him forcefully.

"So it's true. You've never loved me."

He should have just lied. "Victoria!"

"Don't! Don't you dare!" She spat. "It's that… that man… Hibari!"

Dino sighed. Bad move. Victoria's anger swelled.

"Do you even want me around?"

"Yes of course I do.." Dino began trying to calm her down.

"Then get rid of him."

Dino gave her a confused look. "What? I already told him that…"

She pointed an angry finger at the door. "He is out there right now with OUR children!" She hissed. "If you want this… if you want us to work, I don't ever want to see him near you again. I especially don't want him around OUR children."

"So you don't trust me?" Dino began to carefully tie his tie, doing his best to look as dejected and hurt as possible, trying to regain some upper hand in the argument.

"You can't even tell me you love me!"

"If anything that should just prove how honest I am!" Dino retorted. He walked over to her and tried to put his arms around her, but she just pushed him away. "I don't ever want to lie to you."

"Do you still love him?" she asked looking away from him.

"What?" He was taken aback by the question. It was like a punch to the brain he had no idea how to answer that.

"Do. You. Still. Love. _Him_?" She demanded.

Dino sat down heavily on the bed and stared at his hands. "yes…" It was barely a whisper.

"Then, Dino how can I trust you when I know that your… that the man you… that HE is always around…?"

"He's the liaison between the Cavallone and the Vongola… I'll see him through work…" His heart wasn't in the fight anymore. He just sat there on the bed looking down.

"Dino, He called the kids HIS Carnivores!"

"Victoria…" Dino said quietly. "That's just his pet name for them…"

"Dino, if you are going to take this marriage seriously… If you want this to work. I don't want him near you or the kids. You will tell him to leave us alone… completely."

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

A/N2: Thank you everyone for your support. I know it's been awhile since I posted so I went ahead and put this up even though it's short. I love all your reviews! :D


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Dino limped along the hallway slowly. He was dreading every step closer to where he knew he would find Hibari. He didn't want to face him. He didn't want to tell him what he had to… He knew that Hibari loved his children as though they were his own, and Dino knew that keeping him from them would break his heart…. _Or whatever Kyouya had that passed for a heart_. Dino found himself outside the door to the living room before he was ready to face the argument in front of him. With a deep breath he opened the door and limped inside.

"Daddy!" Six voices chorused. They were all sitting on the floor with Hibari coloring pictures.

"Hey guys." Dino said smiling.

"We're making pictures daddy!" Davide said holding up his blue blob.

"I can see that…" Dino smiled indulgently at him.

"Mines a duck with a jetpack!" Toni yelled from the floor. Holding up his picture. "Color with us too!"

Dino glanced at Kyouya who was steadfastly ignoring him, sitting between Carlotta and Dimitrio.

"Sorry Toni… Not right now… Hey… Kyouya… I need a word…"

Hibari shot him a suspicious glance as he stood up. "I'll be right back,"

Dino led him out of the room and a little ways down the corridor before stopping and facing him.

"Kyouya… I don't know how to tell you this… but… " Dino sighed. "You can't come by here anymore."

"tch." Hibari scoffed. "As if I would want to."

"I mean… Victoria… She doesn't want you around the children anymore." The words left him reluctantly and hung alone in the air a few moments. He felt wretched for doing this to Kyouya. He had brought him in, made him part of the family, and in what probably felt like mere days to Kyouya, took it all away from him. _It wasn't supposed to happen this way!_ He wanted to scream.

Hibari said nothing, leaning against the wall and glaring at Dino as though the words he said were meaningless drivel.

" Kyouya. You can't visit the kids anymore. You're not allowed,"

"Try and stop me." Hibari said almost amused.

Dino ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look! You don't have a say in the matter! Victoria doesn't want you around the kids so you can't be around them!"

Hibari's eyes narrowed. "If she tries to stop me I'll bite her to death."

"Kyouya! You have no say! You're not related to them or legally bound to them in any way! As my wife she is now legally their mother and she can dictate if you can see them or not!" Dino paused at the blank look on Hibari's face. He wasn't getting through to him and he knew it. "Look… maybe we can work something out later… but for now… she just doesn't want there to be an excuse for me to be around you…"

Hibari narrowed his eyes. "She's afraid I'll steal you away?" The irony was heavy.

"Kyouya… how would you feel if your spouse was still in love with someone else?"

Hibari raised an eyebrow at him, not showing how the words 'still in love' ricocheted off the walls of his head. "I'd wonder why he's with me in the first place."

Dino sighed. "Exactly… Kyouya, I have a family to take care of… and that doesn't include you."

"tch," Hibari turned away not allowing himself to show how Cavallone's words burned. "I have never been part of your family nor have I needed anyone to take care of me. Good bye herbivore."

Dino nodded. He stood up and walked past Hibari towards the living room. As he passed him he stumbled and grabbed Hibari's shoulder for support. He leaned heavily on him for a moment bringing his lips close to Hibari's ear. "Find the letter," It was softer than a whisper, Hibari could almost believe that it was never spoken, but that the words just appeared in his head.

"Sorry," Dino said letting go of him and continuing as though nothing happened. Hibari shrugged and stalked off. Screw the party, he would see if there was a flight back to Japan tonight.

* * *

Ryohei had finished off the bottle at this point and was making his way unsteadily back to his room. He didn't feel like going to the party anymore. His conversation with Hibari had done little to assuage his mind of his mixed feelings towards his lover and he had spent the last hour avoiding going back to his room. Now he was very drunk and wanted a nap. To hell with Luss, he was going to sleep in his own bed.

He entered his room and managed to get his shoes and socks off without falling on his face. He was halfway out of his shirt when the door to his room burst open and Lussuria came sauntering in.

"Ryo-chaaaaaaannn! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Lussuria stopped in his tracks. "What are you doing? You have to be dressed if we're going to the party silly!"

"I'm not going." Ryohei said shrugging off his dress shirt and throwing it across the room. "If you need your… your arm candy… take your other boyfriends,"

Lussuria stared at him in shock. It took him a moment to process exactly what he said before laughing. "Ryo-chan…" He began.

"No! Don't call me that!" Ryohei yelled. "I'm not Ryo-chan to the extreme! I'm Ryohei!"

"I'll call you whatever I want." Lussuria said, all laughter gone. "You know jealousy is the worst accessory. So what if I have a few men on the side…" His tone softened and he took a step forward and touched Ryohei's bare shoulder. "You're my favorite."

Ryohei winced and pulled away from him stumbling slightly over his big feet. "I don't want to be the favorite…. I… I want to be the only."

"Ryohei," Lussuria said exasperatedly. "You live in Japan I only get to see you every few months. What am I supposed to do in the mean time?"

"And that makes it extremely ok?" Ryohei couldn't believe it. He knew that he wasn't a lightning fast thinker, but that was just wrong. "That's what your right hand is for!" A small part of him in the back of his head was cringing as he said the words, but the alcohol had completely eliminated what little barriers there were between his brain and his mouth. "I don't see anyone else!"

"Look… Ryohei." Lussuria pulled his sunglasses off and stepped closer. He touched Ryohei's face and made him look him in the eye. "It's not like there is anyone else that would want you." Ryohei's eyes widened in shock and he tried to take a step backwards. He tripped and fell backwards onto the bed. Luss straddled him, his eyes hungrily taking in Ryohei's half-naked body beneath him. "you are so beautiful… "

"Luss! Get off of me!" Ryohei tried to shove him off, but Lussuria just laughed.

"Come now Ryo-chan. I thought you liked it when I'm rough?" Lussuria kissed down his neck and across his shoulder.

"Luss! Stop! I don't want…" He was interrupted as Lussuria kissed him roughly pinning his arms down over his head. "What…What are you…"Lussuria silenced him again kissing him roughly, pressing his knee between Ryohei's legs.

"It's not a game this time! Stop… Please! STOP!"

Lussuria laughed. "Oh Ryo-chan. It's always a game…" He pulled Ryohei's pants down and nuzzled his neck. "I love it when you scream like this Ryo-chan… I should have done this years ago…"

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome. I've really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on Victoria! Every one has been great!

A/N2: I would also like to thank my friend Tai-Sensei who helped me with my characterization of Romario. He got his personality perfectly. (KHR Chapter 353 Pg.11)


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

"It looks like Cavallone isn't as stupid and arrogant as you thought." Squalo said entering the bedroom and locking the door behind him. He kicked off his shoes and socks as he sat heavily on the bed.

Xanxus didn't bother to look up from his laptop.

Squalo leaned back and smiled at Xanxus. "Remember… If Cavallone survives this I get to top."

Xanxus glanced up at him. "He still hasn't figured out who's really behind this yet."

Squalo shrugged. "Give it time. He'll figure it out."

* * *

Gokudera walked quickly down the corridor; Yamamoto walking next to him, easily keeping pace with his long strides.

"Where are we going?"

"tch." Gokudera didn't bother to respond. He pushed his way into the kitchen to see Old Ivan standing over the staff lined up against the wall, oddly intimidating as he slavered around his strange teeth.

"Did you find out who killed him?" Gokudera asked him in rapid Italian.

Old Ivan gave him a contemptuous look. He stepped away from the staff and lowered his voice his S's whistling out through his teeth. "It didn't come from here… It must have been an outside job." He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully sucking on his dentures with a disgusting sloshing noise. "Tell boss that there was a dark haired middle aged woman wandering around… I'm looking into it."

"I'm not your messenger." Gokudera bristled.

Ivan gave him a long look. "So then why are you here?... I'm sorry. I don't bat for your team and I never pay for sex."

Gokudera opened his mouth to shout when Yamamoto tactfully intervened. "We'll let Dino know." He grabbed Gokudera's arm and pulled him from the room.

"He thought I was a..!" Gokudera began furiously.

"Well… I mean…" Yamamoto blushed. "Look at yourself…"

"What?" Gokudera looked down at himself. He was dressed for the party, wearing his black fitted suit and all his usual jewelry.

"You look… sexy…" Yamamoto smiled snaking an arm around his waist and was pleased to receive a smirk from Gokudera.

"Is that it now…" He said gently pushing his hand away. He peered into Dino's empty office and sighed. "I don't know where he is…"

"You'll see him at the party. We can tell him then…"

"I guess you're right…"

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

A/N2: I know this is probably the shortest chapter in the existence of chapters, but I was feeling super guilty since I hadn't posted anything in a month and with finals next week, moving, and Christmas I wasn't sure I'd get more written… So if I do you'll be the first to know! And I promise next chapter will be much better!

A/N3: I LOVED all the comments.


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Hibari had managed to grab the last flight out of Italy that evening and was finally home and standing in his foyer. The only ticket he had been able to get was in the middle of the economy section and sitting in between an overweight man with severe body odor and a frightening middle-aged woman so far past her prime that she couldn't see it with a telescope, she kept sliding her hand up his leg and offering to grant him membership to the mile high club. It had been everything he could do not to snap and fill the plane with herbivorous blood.

He let out a sigh that originated from the depths of his soul and tried to expel all the frustration that had been congealing like sludge inside him. He made his way to his office and set his laptop bag by the door. He noticed his in-box was overflowing with letters and papers for him to deal with. He had left in such a hurry that he had made no effort to arrange for things to be dealt with in his absence. He almost welcomed the extra catch-up work as a way to keep his mind off of what was going on.

Not bothering to unpack, he sat down at his desk and began sorting through the massive pile. It took him over an hour to organize all the papers. All the while in the back of his mind he was going over and dissecting what Dino had said. _What letter? _He found nothing from Cavallone. There were some work related reports that were from other people within the Cavallone organization but nothing from Dino himself.

He pushed back from his desk and grabbing his bags, went to his room. He thrust the doors open and something fell on his head. A white envelope had been wedged between the sliding doors at eye level for a taller person. The letter had obviously been tampered with. The envelope was ripped and dirty as though it had gotten innocently damaged in the process of being sent. Hibari dropped his bags and snatched the letter from the floor and ripped it open. He sat down heavily on the floor and leaned against the door frame scanning over four pages of complete drivel.

There was nothing there. NOTHING. Nothing that explained Cavallone's insistence that he read the letter. By the third page he was shaking with undirected rage. He made it half way down the fourth page before he crumpled it up and hurled it across the room. Four pages… FOUR PAGES… about nothing but how their relationship had to be terminated… how he was sorry… How it was never meant to be. It was a complete waste of paper.

Hibari fisted his hands in his hair. He felt the hope that he hadn't even realized he'd been holding onto flee. The letter had been the last nail in the coffin. There was not even the delusion anymore that this was some horrible nightmare. It felt like the world had ended. That everything he understood to be true was a complete and total lie. In less than a week his entire world had been turned inside out. He couldn't stop shaking. The rage and hurt built up inside him and he felt like his chest would explode from the pressure. He noticed a drop of something hit his knee and looked up. The roof must be leaking again…. He was surprised by feeling a foreign wetness on his face. Feeling as though he were outside himself, he slowly touched a hand to his face. Tears. He pushed them away hurriedly, embarrassed and humiliated just by the idea of their presence. As he pushed those away new ones fell to take their place. Soon, there was nothing more he could do, but sit and wait for them to stop.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

A/N2: So finally getting back to writing after my small break. So Happy New Year everyone!


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Ryohei lay there in shock, curled into the wrinkled sheets now stained with his blood. Luss sat on the edge of the bed smoking a cigarette.

"Come on Ryo-chan you need to get dressed," Luss stood up and started pulling his clothes on.

Ryohei curled up tighter. "I don't want to go,"

"Don't be silly Ryo-chan." Luss started throwing clothes onto the bed beside him. "I need my arm candy."

Ryohei didn't move. Luss sighed. "Don't be like that Ryo-chan… you know I love you…" He kissed his shoulder tenderly. Ryohei shied away from him, biting into his lip to keep from making a noise, it hurt his lip was already split and bleeding from where Luss had hit him to keep him obedient. Luss trailed a long manicured nail down Ryohei's spine. "If you would prefer…. We could stay here instead…. There are still a few things I'd like to do to you…" Ryohei shuddered. Those words would have once sent a thrill of pleasure down his spine now clenched tightly around his heart.

"I…I'll go… I'll go… just… Give me a minute to get ready…" Ryohei whispered.

"You're so good Ryo-chan." Luss said petting his hair. "I'm so glad I have you."

* * *

Dino made small talk and did all that was expected of him as he play acted at being the perfect husband. He wished he were home tucking-in the kids or reading them their bedtime story, rather than participating in this farce. He glanced over at Victoria and watched as she attempted to do the same, but was less adroit at perpetuating the lie. Her smile was wooden and didn't quite reach her eyes, hardly masking her upset. As he looked around the room he couldn't help thinking back to the first time he went through this charade, back when his little performance wasn't so much a lie as a hope. He and Carmen had escaped their reception early and had spent their first night as husband and wife hiding out in the park under the stars while everyone else panicked searching for them. Carmen had truly understood him... The only other person since was Kyouya… and now he was gone. Dino cursed whatever bravado caused Hibari to come to Italy. He wished it could have worked out differently… but it had to end this way. His only hope now was that Hibari would find the letter and understand.

Dino spotted Ryohei standing in the corner unusually quiet and made his way over to him.

"Ryohei!" Ryohei flinched at the sound of his name, but recovering quickly turned towards him smiling.

"Dino! I'm extremely glad you found your wife!"

"Thanks… Are… you ok?"

Ryohei's smile wavered not at all. He implusively rubbed the back of his neck and laughed loudly.

"I'm extremely fine!" Ryohei tried to force everything he had into those three words, hoping that Cavallone wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Ever since walking into that room with Lussuria, he felt everyone's eyes watching him, judging him. He begged to any god that would listen that no one would ever find out what had happened.

Dino smiled. "At least someone is…" He sighed and leaned against the wall. "You and Kyouya are pretty close…."

"Extremely." Ryohei leaned against the wall next to him.

"How is he taking…" Dino waved a hand vaguely. "Everything?"

Ryohei's permanent smile turned into a thoughtful expression, one Dino hadn't seen before. "Oh…. He's….. Extremely…..Hopeful"

"Hopeful?"

"Yeah… he's extremely hopeful that none of this is real."

* * *

Hibari wasn't sure how long he sat there, alone clutching his knees to his chest. Finally, he got to his feet wiping his eyes on the back of his hand and hating himself. He turned to leave. He wanted to be anywhere else in the world. He moved towards the door and came face to face with Mukuro.

"Kufufufufufufu," Mukuro smiled down at him. "I would have said something but you looked so precious… If I had known that letter would get this reaction I wouldn't have kept you from seeing it these last few months."

Caught off guard only momentarily Hibari swung his fist around to punch him only for it to be caught deftly and twisted out of the way.

"Kufufufufufu… I would have never of thought it possible for you to cry for anyone..."

Hibari didn't answer he swung again with his other fist only for it to be caught and twisted behind him by something he couldn't see. He was trapped. He struggled and fought kicking out at Mukuro only to have his feet become tied to the floor.

"Kufufufu.."

Hibari hated that laugh. It echoed throughout his skull and pulled every lever of rage in his head. Mukuro walked forward and kissed him lightly on the mouth letting his tongue slip seductively over his lower lip. Hibari's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't move away. He pulled at his bonds reminding himself they were only illusions. He could fight illusions.

"Come now Kyouya, it wasn't that bad…" Mukuro reached out a hand and ran it through Hibari's hair.

"Don't touch me." Hibari spat trying to twist away from his touch. Mukuro laughed again and leaned in for another soft kiss. "Get away from me!" Hibari stopped struggling and tried to concentrate. He had to break out of this.

Mukuro smiled at him. "It's not like you never liked my kisses…" He ran a long thin finger down the curve of Hibari's face, caressing him softly. "Well… there was a time… under the cherry blossoms…"

Hibari's eyes flew open and he stared at Mukuro. No. Not again. Never again.

Mukuro laughed. "Don't look so worried Kyouya… I'm not even really here. This is just an illusion."

Hibari's only response was to glare.

"As it is Kyouya, you are alone, discarded, unloved… It's not as if you have many options…. I can make you feel better Kyouya… I can make the pain go away… That hatred you keep deep inside, just for me… That's simply the flip-side of love… "

Hibari actually scoffed at that. "I would never love you."

"Oh but you do… I can tell. You take such an interest in everything I do… You keep track of how well they are guarding me in my prison. You keep tabs on my jailors' habits, their preferences, how well they do their jobs…." Mukuro kissed him almost lovingly. "How could I let such devotion go unrewarded?"

Hibari kept his face blank, only his eyes reflecting his fury.

"Did you like what I did for you? I worked very hard to make sure you got an invitation to the Horse's wedding... and while you were away… I made sure that those records of my imprisonment were well taken care of." Mukuro laughed at Hibari's shocked expression. He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close kissing him deeply, passionately enjoying the feel of Hibari's body against his own and how he struggled to get away. "Perhaps soon I will be able to finish what we've started here in person…" he ran his thumb lovingly over Hibari's lower lip. "as for now... I believe I have an appointment with Ken and Chikusa…. Goodbye."

Mukuro disappeared along with whatever illusion was holding Hibari in place. Hibari tried to lash out at him, but all his punches met thin air, causing him to drive his fist through the wall in his frustration. He whipped out his cell phone and turned it on. Ignoring a voicemail from Kusakabe, he called Vindcare. He relayed to them what Mukuro had said and was assured that everything was secure and nothing had happened.

He looked down at the crumpled letter and grabbed it. There had to be something else there… This couldn't be it… Why else would Mukuro want to keep it from him? He smoothed it out on the floor and looked down at the signature.

Sincerely,

ディノ

Dino Cavallone 10th

He stared. Dino never signed his name in katakana… He didn't like the way it looked… Hibari snatched up the letter and went to his desk he dug through his drawers until he found at the back of one, an old copy of the Namimori School Rulebook. He pulled out a piece of paper that listed the instructions for decoding Dino's message. It had been years since Cavallone had given it to him, and he had almost forgotten it, but the presence of Dino's odd Katakana signature brought the memory back. Mukuro could not have known the code but probably suspected that there was more to the letter.

It took Hibari a little over an hour to translate it. It was short and choppy, evidence of Dino's haste, and the inadequacies of the cipher. Finally finished he sat back and read:

Dear Kyouya,

I am being watched. Probably going to die soon. You are the only person outside of my family that I trust. Mr. Suzuki has the paperwork. Address in your book. Romario is first resort, but if I'm dead Romario probably is too.

Love,

Dino Cavallone 10th

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

A/N2: YAY! I finally posted! I'm so sorry this took a month. Thank you for all your comments!


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Hibari found himself walking through the winding narrow streets of Namimori. As he continuously checked the address Dino had written in his address book; thinking back he vaguely remembered Dino looking for a lawyer in Japan years ago. He stopped in front of the correct door and stepped inside to be immediately greeted by the pretty secretary sitting at the desk in the middle of the room.

"I'm looking for a Mr. Suzuki,"

"Do you have an appointment?" She said typing on her keyboard.

"No,"

"Then I'm sorry, he is unavailable today. Would you like to make an appointment for next week?"

"No. I want to see him now. Tell him…." Hibari hesitated. He didn't want to risk whoever was watching Dino to find out he came here but he didn't want to draw unwanted attention through his usual methods… He decided to chance it. "Tell him Cavallone sent me."

The secretary paused before picking up the phone on her desk. There was a brief conversation before a door in the back opened and an older Japanese gentleman stepped out.

"Hello, my name is Suzuki. Please come into my office," He was tall and well dressed in the typical black suit uniform of the Japanese business man; although, there was something about him that reminded Hibari of a large bear.

Hibari walked past the secretary and into Mr. Suzuki's large office. He sat down in one of the two plush chairs facing the desk.

"So…. You must be Mr. Kyouya Hibari?" He said sitting down at his desk and facing him. Hibari only nodded in response. "I'll have to see some form of identification." Hibari reached into his jacket. His fingers moved past the hidden pocket concealing his tonfa and retrieved his passport and handed it across the desk to Mr. Suzuki, who studied it intently. He retrieved a black light pen from his desk drawer to check for authenticity.

"Mr. Cavallone insisted I verify identification through some security questions… You can never be too careful." Hibari raised an eyebrow at him as Mr. Suzuki brought out a sealed envelope and opened it. He read over it briefly. A light blush spread across his cheeks and he glanced up and quickly back down at the paper. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Um… There are ten questions you must answer… and… um…" He cleared his throat again. "The first question is: what is your favorite weapon?"

Hibari eyed him warily he did not like the lawyer's reaction to the list. "tonfas"

"Where do you keep them on your person?"

Hibari didn't answer but opened his jacket and showed him the hidden pockets where he kept them. He couldn't help but smirk slightly at the look of alarm on the man's face. Hibari sat back these questions weren't as bad as he had initially thought.

Mr. Suzuki cleared his throat. "What was your first love?"

Hibari narrowed his eyes. "Pass."

Mr. Suzuki nodded making a tick mark on the page. "Who took your virginity?"

Hibari stared blankly at him fighting against the heat rising in his face. He always thought of Dino as his first; having never counted what Mukuro had done to him as anything close to sexual, and he had never told anyone about it especially Dino. In any case he was not about to discuss such a personal matter with the likes of the lawyer in front of him. "Tch. Next question."

Mr. Suzuki made another tick mark. "Which sexual position is your favorite?"

A flash of a memory of Dino forcing him onto his stomach and cuffing him to the bed raced across his mind. Hibari grimaced. "This is ridiculous." He stood up.

Mr. Suzuki made a note. "Mr. Hibari, if you wish to continue this …"

"Just give me the papers so I can go." Hibari said menacingly. "Or I'll bite you to death."

Mr. Suzuki nodded. "It looks like you have answered all the questions correctly…. Mr. Cavallone made a note saying that you would refuse to answer any more questions after the fourth and would summarily threaten my person."

Hibari blinked. "…. "

"Please sit down. I have the paperwork ready. All you have to do is sign and you will be the trustee overseeing the funds that Mr. Cavallone has set up for his children as well as their guardian in the event of his death and the death of Mr. Romario…This will essentially make you his heir until his children come of age."

* * *

Squalo sat next to Xanxus at one of the round tables scattered around the banquet room. He looked over at his date and watched him smell the bouquet of his wine and swirl it in the glass before taking a long drink. The expression on his face looked almost like… contentment.

"You look happy…. Why do you look happy? You hate these things…." Squalo leaned forward examining his face.

Xanxus glared at hm. "Get out of my face trash."

Squalo leaned back. "…."

Xanxus almost smirked. "I've as good as won. I heard the brat's cum slut saying they hadn't found the assassin that killed their leak."

Squalo frowned. "So? It's not like Dino's not going to do anything about it."

Xanxus sipped his wine. "He doesn't know."

"They didn't tell him? Why?"

Xanxus shrugged.

Squalo cursed fluently under his breath.

Xanxus swirled his wine thoughtfully. "Your ass is going to be sore for months when I'm done with you."

* * *

Hibari sat by himself in his living room. He had made himself a cup of tea and was staring thoughtfully into the dregs at the bottom of the cup. He was now the Cavallone heir… It felt impossible. He swirled his cup watching the remnants of the leaves dance. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was in turmoil. So much had happened in a very short period of time. Had everything that had happened in Italy been a farce? He hated himself for the feelings of hope returning. He forcibly pushed them back trying to stamp them out. There was no way he would ever be able to be with Dino again. Cavallone was expecting to die soon, so he decided to thwart whoever it was he thought was going to kill him by making Hibari his heir. He was using him; there was no affection in this….. But… He tried to ignore that traitorous thought and refilled his cup. He took out his phone to check the time and remembered he had forgotten to check the message Kusakabe had left him during his flight. He flipped open his phone and dialed into his voice mail.

"Hello, Kyouya? This is Tetsuya… I'm at Cavallone's party…" Kusakabe's voice was hushed over the phone and noises from the party could be heard in the background, it sounded like someone may have been giving a speech. "I was wondering where you are…" There was the crack of a single gun shot and sounds of screaming and panic erupted. "Dino! Oh my god!" A second shot. "Romario! NO!" Kusakabe must have dropped the phone at this point, because Hibari heard it hit the floor and the sounds of people running and screaming, before finally there was a crunch and the line went dead.

Hibari sat there, frozen. He had the message repeat. He wasn't sure how many times he listened to it.

Dino was…... dead.

Hibari couldn't believe that….. He felt like his body was numb. He had no idea what to do now. He looked down at his phone. He had his little carnivores to take care of now… He couldn't imagine the pain Carlotta and the others must be going through right now. He had to get back to Italy.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

A/N2: So getting back into the swing of things. I'm settling in at my new place and getting used to the new routine so hopefully posting will become regular as clockwork.


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: In the reviews I was asked why Tetsuya refers to Hibari as Kyouya instead of Kyo-san. I did this because I'm writing in English. I thought about using Kyo instead, but as he still uses the suffix 'san' instead of 'kun', so I still wanted a certain level of formality. Also, he referred to himself by his full first name, because I didn't think he would call himself by his nickname. I hope that clears up all lingual confusion.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

"I would like to propose a toast to the happy couple!" Father Peter said standing. "Dino. Victoria. Would you please stand?"

With a weak grimace to Victoria, Dino stood tall next to his wife. His leg was throbbing now. It had been growing progressively worse all day. And Father Peter was known for his particularly long speeches.

"I would like to start by saying that I've known Dino Cavallone a long time…" He began and Dino internally groaned. He could already tell this was going to be a long one. Not even a minute in and his leg had tendrils of pain shooting through it. He began to wobble. He tried to stop it. He focused all his will power on his leg trying to make it last just a few minutes longer, but it refused. He'd already pushed it too far that day… and without ceremony it gave out.

As he fell a shot rang out and suddenly it was as though the world was moving in slow-motion. He watched as Victoria, bent down to catch him as he fell away from her. He felt something warm and wet hit his face. He watched in horror as the force that had been pulling him back to his feet, gave out and fell on top of him. The image of the bullet penetrating her temple and half of Victoria's concerned face exploding outwards in a shower of blood, bone, and brain burnt itself permanently into his memory. Her lifeless face rested centimeters from his own. He looked away from her and saw the wall behind them where the bullet and half her brain had been embedded in the wall.

Suddenly time returned and everything sped up again. He could hear screaming and men running and Victoria's lifeless body was lifted off of him.

It was Romario. Dino watched him carefully lay Victoria's body on the floor next to him.

"Dino! Oh god…. Dino are you ok?"Romario was hovering over him. He could see the fear and panic in his eyes waking Dino to the realization that he was completely covered in Victoria's blood.

"What? I'm fine…." Dino sat up. Dazedly, he touched his face and his hand came back completely red.

"You… you weren't hurt boss?" A note of hope had entered his voice standing out quivering naked and slightly ashamed.

"I…They missed me." He stared at the macabre display on the wall. If his leg had not given out… If he had been able to stand for the entire speech, he would be dead and Victoria would still be alive. He felt sick. He ran a hand distractedly through his hair and it came back holding a piece of brain. He retched.

"It's ok Boss… Don't worry. We'll get you out of here." Romario helped him to his feet. As Dino stood, a second shot echoed through the room and he felt a sharp pain race through his body as Romario pushed him back down and into the back of the chair. He heard a groan from Romario who was pinning him to the floor and suddenly realized he was bleeding.

"Romario!" Dino struggled to get out from under him.

"Shut up and stay still!" Romario hissed between clenched teeth. There was more shouting and confused yelling.

"You're bleeding!"

"I'm fine. It's just a scratch,"

It was a mark of how disoriented he was that Dino believed him.

The aftermath was a chaotic blur to Dino. He felt the strong hands of Big Ivan and Carlos pull him away from the insanity and off into a side room. He could hear screaming and yelling in the other room and assumed that Romario would take care of the situation. He knew he was in shock. The image of Victoria's mangled face never moving far from his thoughts. His wife was dead…. He was a widower… Again…

He felt something wet touch his face and he looked up startled at Jake standing next to him holding a damp washcloth. The confusion must have registered on his face, because Jake answered the unspoken question.

"You're still covered in blood…"

Dino nodded silently and looked down at his hands; he could see the blood drying. Hands covered in blood. Jake must have taken the lack of response as an acquiescence to continue. Dino felt the rough cloth against his cheek expunging the last traces of Victoria from his face. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands.

"It's ok to cry boss…" Fedele said from his place at the door.

Dino heard a wry laugh escape from his lips. "Thank you Fedele," He gestured for Jake to stop, and stood up. He walked over to the door and ignoring Fedele's protests, opened it and stepped out into the larger room. There was work to be done.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

A/N2: Thank you for all your reviews everyone. Keep it up!


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: Sorry about the having to repost the chapter. I had a computer issue and I forgot to check to make sure I had the correct portion of the story saved. I was in a hurry to get the new chapter out before I went away this weekend. So this is what should have been posted. I'm sorry for the confusion.

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

It had taken the entire day after the party to clean up the mess and make arrangements. After the funeral Dino found himself back in his bedroom. He kicked off his shoes and sat down on the bed. He held his head in his hands; he needed to get himself under control. Explaining to the children that their mother was dead had been the hardest part. Dino had sat down with them and carefully explained what had happened, leaving out the parts that were too difficult for children to understand. They had cried… The twins had been the worst. They had been very close with their mother and explaining to them that they would never be able to see her again was heartbreaking. It had been a closed casket funeral; there had been no way to reconstruct Victoria's mutilated face. Dino had held the twins the entire time. He had let them cry into his shoulder and ask him questions. Ryohei, Yamamoto, and Gokudera had been a great help with the rest of the kids in Romario's absence, as he was still in the hospital. The bullet had narrowly missed puncturing a lung.

He loosened his tie and looked down at his hands. He was still wearing his wedding ring. He slid it off his finger and stared at it, turning it over and over the inlayed diamonds glinting in the light. He sighed and getting up walked over to his dresser and opened the top drawer. He moved aside his socks and reached into the very back and pulled out a black velvet box. He opened it and pulled out his first wedding ring. It was nothing more than a simple gold band. He turned it so he could read the engraving lining the inside: Carmen Santangelo. He carefully put the ring back in the box and set the other ring next to it. He shut it and put it back in the drawer. Two wedding bands… Two dead wives… He wished he could say that neither was his fault.

* * *

Romario lay sleeping in the hospital bed, surrounded by a prayer circle of quietly humming and beeping machines. Tetsuya sat by his bed holding his hand watching the heart beat of the man he loved skitter across the screen. He hadn't left Romario's bedside since he got back from surgery. Romario groaned and shifted. Tetsuya peered over him wondering if he was in pain and whether or not he should call the doctors. Romario blinked up at him, focusing on Tetsuya's face.

"You look like hell…" His voice was uncharacteristically raspy.

Tetsuya looked up at him and smiled relief softening his features. "Romario…. You're awake…."

"Yeah…. How long…?"

"A day." Kusakabe squeezed his hand slightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Hey pops… "

Romario looked over towards the door to see Dino standing alone, still dressed in the suit he wore to the funeral.

"Hey Brat…" Romario sized him up. "You had the funeral… that was fast."

Dino shrugged and walked inside closing the door behind him. "Keeps the police out. It's more difficult to exhume a body once buried than to just come in and take it as a murder victim… Not that they would need to. She died of a stroke." He took the chair next to Kusakabe.

"I'm surprised you still fit into that suit… It's been what? 4 years since you've worn it?"

"Hey! I've kept my girlish figure." Dino smiled. "You should be careful all these IVs and hospital food will ruin that gut you've worked so hard on."

Romario laughed and immediately groaned. "Don't do that… it hurts to laugh…and I don't have a gut."

Kusakabe patted Romario's hand placatingly. "It's fine. I like your gut."

"I hate you both." Romario groaned and shifted in his bed. "Where are the kids?"

"Takeshi, Hayato, and Ryohei are looking after them."

"That's cruel boss…"

Dino shrugged. "I figured between the three of them they'll figure it out."

As the silence grew and the smiles faded from their faces, Romario spoke. "You know who did this…" It wasn't a question.

"Yes…"

"Then why are you wasting time here?"

Dino grimaced. He knew Romario was right, he was just putting off the inevitable. He stood up and left.

Kusakabe watched him go.

"So… How's your boss taking all this…?" Romario said casually.

"My… oh… I…" Kusakabe reached for his phone before remembering it was smashed in the kerfuffle of the evening before. "My phone was smashed… I haven't been able to call him."

"If you find my pants you can use my phone..." Romario looked around.

"Thanks… I'll go ask the nurse." Kusakabe gave Romario a quick kiss.

* * *

A/N2: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

A/N3: Thank you for all the reviews.


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Father Peter sat quietly in the confessional alone. He would go there sometimes when he was under particular stress as a way to remove himself from others and to feel closer to god. He sat alone contemplating the botched assassination of Cavallone tenth. There was no reason for it to go wrong… Everything was in place… the fact that it failed was an act of god. He was brought out of his contemplations when someone knocked on the wooden frame of the confessional.

"He..Hello?" No one else should be here at this time of night…

"Open the door Jude."

Father Peter froze. No one else should know that name… No one but her…. Tremulously he reached out and pushed the door open. He stared into the face of the last person in the world he wanted to see… alive at any rate. Dino Cavallone sat at ease in a chair he must have dragged over to place right in front of the booth.

"Don't get up Judas Rivello. I suggest you just sit right where you are…" Dino smiled at him moving the .38 revolver slightly so that the light glinted off of it. "I found this in your room… weird… a priest with a gun."

Rivello barely even breathed. He could hear his blood pumping in his ears. He didn't even have the presence of mind to pray to god to save him as he stared at the gun in Cavallone's hand. He knew he was going to die.

"Did you hear about the death of one of your nuns?" Cavallone was suddenly serious.

Oh God… He wants to talk to me before he kills me… Judas swallowed painfully. Dino was well known for playing with his prey, the longer he talked the more painful the death. "N..n..nuns?"

"Yes, I don't remember her name… Sister Mercedes or something… Anyways, she committed suicide just a little while ago…"

The blood completely drained from his face. His friend… Mercedes… was dead. She had been such a reliable assassin taking care of Nick Gaglio so efficiently…..

"She hanged herself… so sad… She left a rather interesting suicide note." Rivello watched as the expression on Cavallone's face shifted from tragic to serious. "Would you like to know what she wrote?"

"W…What…."

"She mentioned you… quite a few times. Apparently the two of you were madly in love and broke your vows with each other," Cavallone leaned forward conspiratorially. "Then she found you cheating on her with an altar boy…"

"I NEVER…!"He began forgetting the circumstances of this conversation.

Dino cut him off. "Apparently the strain on her heart was too great and she hanged herself… I must say the poem she left you was quite touching… I'm sure it took Julius all night to write." Judas Rivello had known Cavallone for years, and the smile that he watched spread across Dino's face looked like it belonged to a different person... Vedette Cavallone.

"Honestly Judas, did you think that you could get away from me by changing your name and face?"

"How… How did you find out?"

"To be honest you had me fooled for a lot longer than I'd care to admit to. But you made a mistake. Alex had overheard someone calling you by your real name… You just couldn't stay away could you?"

"Well… you know…" Judas gave a slight nervous smile. "information brokering is a dangerous business… and I already had all the means set up here… and with my new profession I didn't even have to look for the information it was given to me freely…"

"You know… once I knew you were involved it made everything so… Clear." There was a loud click that echoed more than it should have as Dino cocked the gun. "I liked the combination to your safe… Luke 22: 3-6… How… Apropos… I had no idea my mother was so pious. She must have been the one who let slip that Victoria's children were mine… She was the only one who knew. And letting someone like you know something like that would of course set off a chain reaction. …"

"What do you want? I'll give you anything… Wait! Wait… Did you know it was your mother's contingency plan to just have you killed?"

"…." Dino's poker face was impenetrable. But inside his head the shock had him reeling. _What did my mother have to do with this?_

Despite his unreadable expression Rivello seemed to know what was going through his head.

"You thought this was all about the Gaglio's wanting to expand." A smile spread across his face. This had to be the way he could live. He leaned forward. "You let me live and I'll tell you everything… You know she orchestrated everything."

"She. Is. My. Mother." Dino was getting genuinely annoyed now. "And I guess you're right… I'll let you live…" Dino pulled out his phone and made a call. After a brief exchange he turned back to Rivello. "Old Ivan is on his way to pick you up. I think he'll enjoy letting you live much more than you…."

Judas's eyes widened in shock. "Not…. No… He…"

"Yes… he does have a reputation doesn't he…. He has this…. Disgusting… thing he does with his dentures that I am told is quite painful…"

"you… You wouldn't… I…."

"You what?"

"I…. I don't want…. I… I don't want to die. Please… please don't…"

Dino pulled out a second gun and trained it on him. "You have two choices… you can kill yourself. Or. Old Ivan will have his fun with you… and I know he will make it last for months."

"But… why?"

"Because, either way you'll be sure to be in hell. You'll just have to decide whether it'll be on Earth." Dino smiled. "You'll have to consider whether or not you've been good enough that the pain you will suffer will be rewarded with heaven or if you'll rot in hell either way..."

Rivello stared at him. He could just kill him…. Take the gun… and shoot Cavallone instead… He nodded slowly. "Give me the gun…"

Dino slid the gun over to him, keeping his own gun trained on him. Judas picked it up slowly, then whipped it up, pointed it at Dino, and pulled the trigger. CLICK. Nothing happened.

"You seriously thought I'd give you a loaded gun?" Dino laughed and gestured to his men lurking out of Rivello's view. "I was just fucking with you. I would hate to deny Old Ivan his fun…"

Big Ivan and Brutus came over and grabbed Father Peter by the arms and dragged him away. Dino stood up and pocketed his gun and followed them out. His phone rang.

"Hello."

Romario's voice came through. "How did it go?"

"Are you supposed to be on the phone in your condition?"

"Just tell me how it went."

"…. He said… He said… my mother planned everything." Telling Romario made it so much more real. It hurt.

"Yeah. I could see that." Romario's complete lack of surprise and shock annoyed him.

"What do you mean? She's my mother! She tried to kill her own son! She's been plotting against me!"

"…. Dino…. I thought you knew… Your mother is a horrible frigid bitch…."

"….."

"I'll take that as an "I'm sorry for never listening to you Romario. You were right when you told me years ago to never trust her, and I will listen to what you tell me more carefully here on out.'"

"I really hate you sometimes Romario…"

"Yeah I know."

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this installment of Mafia Games. Reviews and critiques are always welcome.

A/N2: The end is nigh….


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Dino arrived back at the estate alone. Brutus and Big Ivan were securing Rivello. The house was dark and empty when he stepped inside.

"Hello?" there was no reply…. The kids should still be awake. There was never no one there.… He peered into the living room; it was dark and completely vacant. "Toni? Lotta? Lina? Bella? Davide? Dimitrio? Anyone?" He walked through the room and looked out into the hallway pulling out his gun. "Takeshi? Hayato? Ryohei?" He walked through his house and found it empty.

"I heard you found Rivello…"

Dino jumped and turned pointing his gun at the speaker. "Mother!" Dino smiled completely nonchalantly. "I did…."

"Ah…" She took a step forward and leaned casually against the wall. "And?"

"Old Ivan has him. Where are the kids?"

"They're out…" She waved her hand vaguely. "Did he say anything?"

"Mother. Where. Are. My. Kids?"

"Out." She gave him an annoyed look. "Put down that gun. It's not like you're going to be shooting anyone."

"I'm not?"

"Stop playing stupid."

"….Rivello said that you tried to kill me."

"And do you believe him?"

"…." Yes. He did believe him. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he could see how it all worked. With her father dead there was no reason for Victoria's family to try to assassinate him, since they needed to remain in the Cavallone's good graces as their survival depended on it. There was no reason for the assassination attempt. However, his mother could inherit the family if he were to die…. He hoped to god that Kyouya found and understood the letter.

"Are you really going to shoot me?" The look she gave him cut through him.

He felt like he was five years old again. He wanted to say yes. He wanted to cut her down like he did anyone who had threatened him or his family. He felt his hand start to shake with the effort of trying to force himself to pull the trigger. Dino lowered his gun. Who was he kidding, this was his mother… and despite never being close, he didn't have it in him to kill her.

She sighed. "This is why you're a failure Dino, Just like your father…" she pulled out a gun and trained it on him. "You're all talk and no action. Such a disappointment," Dino stared dumbfounded at the gun. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak. The only thing in his world was his mother and the gun. "I'm glad I never wasted much time on you…" She pulled the trigger.

* * *

It was evening by the time Hibari's plane landed. The moment Hibari arrived in Italy he went to the Cavallone estate. If Cavallone's men had let someone kill Dino then he didn't want his little carnivores left in their inept care for long. The taxi driver made it to the estate in record time and Hibari tipped him accordingly before going inside. He let himself in the back and was immediately on alert. It was dark, disserted, and deeply disturbing to him, as Cavallone's house was usually crowded with men coming and going and the children running around making noise. He silently and efficiently searched the premises, when he heard voices further down the hall.

He carefully crept closer. It was Dino's voice hard and uncharacteristically cold talking to his mother. His heart skipped a beat. Dino was alive! He peered around the corner and saw Dino lower his gun looking like Toni did when he was caught-out doing something wrong. He saw her point her gun at him. Hibari moved quickly and silently behind her and slammed his tonfa down hard on her back as she pulled the trigger causing the bullet to ricochet off a statue and burrow into a wall. He didn't give her time to react or recover he smashed his tonfa into the back of her head with the resounding crack of breaking bone. Whirling he brought his other tonfa around and smashed it deep into her face breaking her nose and cracking the front of her skull. She dropped to the floor.

Cavallone stood-staring completely lost for words. Hibari rounded on him. Furious for everything he had done, furious for being used and manipulated, and most of all furious for making him believe he was dead. He hit Dino in the side of the head with his tonfa; knocking him to the floor, unconscious.

"Stupid herbivore." He spun on his heels sharply, and left seething.

* * *

Squalo hung up the phone. His hands shaking with exhilaration, relief, and triumph; he ran out of his office and down the hall. He burst into Xanxus's office with a loud 'VOOOOOOOOOOOOI'.

Xanxus glared at him. "You heard…"

Squalo grinned hugely.

Xanxus narrowed his eyes.

"I want you naked and in my bed in half an hour. Don't worry I'll bring lube." Squalo spun on his heal and left narrowly avoiding a hurtling wine glass. This was going to be the best day ever.

* * *

Ryohei sat outside next to Gokudera while they watched as Yamamoto played catch with the kids. Yamamoto tossed the squishy ball with exaggerated care to the little kids and watched as they caught it or chased after it giggling and yelling at each other loudly. Normally Ryohei would want to join in the fun, but after recent events he didn't feel up to so much levity. He watched as Gokudera lit a cigarette and inhaled the smoke deeply before closing his eyes and letting it escape his mouth in a long seductive stream. Ryohei had always thought Gokudera was attractive, but in that moment he was a sex god. Unbidden, an image of Gokudera, naked, on top of him, kissing him, touching him, loving him; raced across his mind. Blushing, he tore his eyes away from him and looked around the garden. He noticed that Carlotta had gotten bored with the game of catch and was sitting on a bench reading a book behind her he saw Lussuria looking out at him from the window of the house. Ryohei felt his blood turn to ice. He looked away from him quickly and feeling guilty for momentary thoughts, no matter how unexpected, about Gokudera, Ryohei got up and moved to join the game. He didn't know why he felt guilty… After what Lussuria had done to him, there was no way their relationship could continue…. But…. He glanced back up at the mansion; Lussuria was gone. WHAM. The momentary lapse in his attention caused him to miss the ball Yamamoto had thrown and allow it to smash into his face. He staggered backwards and reeling clutched his eye.

"I'm sorry Ryohei!" Yamamoto called out to him as he ran over. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah… I'm… extremely fine…"

"Maybe you should put some ice on it…" Hayato said walking over, he reached out and moved Ryohei's hand to look at his face. "You're going to have a black eye."

Ryohei felt his face flush. "yeah… I'll… Go… get some ice…" He ran off towards the kitchen.

He stepped into the kitchen, and finding the freezer, made himself an icepack. He sat down at the table and held it to his eye and hoped it would stop hurting. He heard the door open and someone enter on his blind side. Long fingers curled around his shoulders and began to knead his muscles soothingly. His eyes fluttered shut and he relaxed into the grip. He sighed softly and tilted his head back and felt his impromptu masseuse kiss his lips softly. In the back of his mind he felt a part of him wish it was Gokudera. He opened his eyes to see Lussuria smiling down at him.

"Love you." Lussuria kissed him again.

"But you…. I… I can't…." Ryohei was tongue-tied.

"I'm sorry about that. You know I love you more than anything."

"I… I…"

"Shhhh…." Lussuria massaged his neck soothingly. "It's all in the past. It won't happen again…"

Ryohei closed his eyes and nodded. It had only been that one time… It must have been an accident… He was already thinking over justifications for what Lussuria had done to him. Lussuria smiled. He knew he would have Ryohei forever no matter what he did to him.

* * *

Dino awoke in a hospital bed. He groaned and slowly opened his eyes, squinting through the bright florescent lights.

"Where…?"

"You're in the hospital Daddy!" Toni yelled. "Uncle Ryohei says you were so sleepy you needed a doctor to make sure you were gonna wake up in time for cartoons!"

Dino winced at Toni's loud voice. He looked around to see all his kids crowding around the bed. Memories of what happened right before he was knocked unconscious came flooding back. "Ryohei?"

"I'm extremely here…."

He switched over to Japanese. "My mother?"

Ryohei shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He answered in Japanese "She's extremely dead…. Her skull was extremely broken… There were some extreme brains…."

"The kids… they didn't see..?"

"No!" Ryohei looked alarmed at the thought. "I found her before the kids extremely could. This guy named… um…. Juilus? He said he'd take care of everything…."

Dino nodded and relaxed back in his pillows.

"Daddy… the doctor said you have a mild concussion… and you need to rest." Carlotta said crawling onto the bed next to him and leaning her head on his shoulder. "He said you should be fine."

"Thank you Lotta." He kissed the top of her head. "Where were you guys?"

"We were visiting grandpa Romario." Catallina said leaning against his other side. "Grandmother said he was lonely and we needed to visit him so that he would get better."

Dino stared up at the ceiling. Everything felt fuzzy. He wasn't completely sure everything that happened was real….He tried to remember and he had a vague recollection of…. Kyouya…..

"We drew you pictures while you were sleeping…" Isabella held up a picture she drew of two Hibirds holding hands… or at least two yellow blobs with orange beaks their yellow blob wings touching.

"It's very nice Bella. Thank you."

"Hayato and Takeshi had to leave. Davide bit Hayato on the leg and he had to go get all sewed up by the doctor." Isabella said. "Takeshi has a funny laugh…."

Toni grabbed the remote and turned on cartoons. He sat on the end of the bed swinging his feet.

Dino sighed. At least things were settling back to normal.

* * *

===Epilogue===

It had been over a week since his mother died. He had gone to her funeral and played his part as the grieving son well. Romario had returned home, and Kusakabe was still by his side helping him heal.

It had been a long week…. A very long week. Dino got ready for bed, putting on his pajama pants and forgoing a shirt, he lay down and tried to clear his mind so he could sleep.

He heard the click of the door knob turning and the door opening and looked over to see a shadowed figure standing in the doorway. Entering silently, he shut the door behind him, cutting off the harsh light streaming into the room. He moved forward, and Dino recognized him from the grace in every approaching step.

"Kyouya." He whispered standing up from his bed to face him.

Hibari said nothing, he walked up to him and stopped; standing mere centimeters away. Dino could feel the electricity from his body. He could almost feel the tension in his muscles. Neither of them moved. For once Dino wasn't sure of himself. So much had happened… He wasn't sure if Hibari had found it in himself to forgive him yet.

Hibari moved first. He slowly brought his hands up and pressed them against Dino's muscled torso. His fingers glided over his stomach and up to his chest, tracing the outlines of his abs and pecks. At his touch Dino shuddered slightly in anticipation. In one swift movement Hibari grabbed Dino's nipples and twisting slammed him against the wall causing Dino to yell in shock and pain.

Hibari leaned forward and whispered in Dino's ear. "I'm going to make you pay."

_Oh God. I hope so. _Dino thought careful not to say anything out loud. However, his thoughts must have shown on his face, because Hibari gave him a glare as though to say. _No you don't._

Hibari bit him hard on the shoulder. Dino exhaled sharply, a mixture of pain and pleasure. Dino wasn't about to take abuse without a fight. He pushed Hibari off of him and hooking a foot behind his ankle twisted him around and pushed him down onto the bed. He ripped open his shirt, not bothering with buttons. Hibari snarled at him and wrapped his legs around Dino's waist and twisted him around so that he was underneath him. He reached for his pocket and Dino pulled his shirt down and wrapped it around his wrists as a pair of make-shift handcuffs.

"Come on Kyouya," Dino said resuming his position of dominance. He licked Kyouya's neck and forced him into a kiss. "I thought you were going to make me pay…" Hibari struggled angrily, trying to free his hands from his ruined shirt. Dino smiled and kissed down his neck and nibbled his ear. Kyouya lost himself for a moment in the sensation. Dino kissed down to his shoulder and lightly scraped his teeth over his skin. Kyouya shuddered; he had to focus to stop himself from giving in.

Hibari brought his legs up and managed to kick him in the stomach. Dino grunted as he was propelled a few steps backwards. That was enough. Kyouya managed to break free of the shirt and grabbed a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket. Dino raised an eyebrow wearily.

"But, Kyouya, I already had you tied up," Dino said smiling.

"These are for you this time." Hibari moved a step forward. Dino moved a step back he bumped into his dresser and his fingers fumbling behind him he opened a drawer and removed his whip. Hibari raised an eyebrow at him, he maintained his calm demeanor despite feeling his heart beat quicken. He rushed forward. Dino moved aside and the whip slapped Hibari across the chest leaving a long red mark. Hibari allowed a small smirk. He moved forward again this time dodging the whip and stepping inside Dino's guard and kissed him. He sunk his teeth into Dino's bottom lip and forced him backwards toward the bed. Dino brought the whip around again and it wrapped around Hibari's arm and pulled him backwards. He managed to get Hibari's hands under-control again wrapping the whip around them, tying them in front of him. Hibari smiled at him, and smashed his restrained fists into the sore spot on Dino's leg where his bullet wound was still healing. Yelling in pain, Dino let the whip loosen as he let go of it to brace himself from the fall. He landed and Hibari was on him pushing his face into the floor, and cuffing his hands behind his back.

Dino cursed as Hibari kissed his back in a manner that he could only think of as smug. He tried to stifle a groan as Hibari kissed his neck and sunk his teeth into his skin. He pulled Dino's pants off of him and grabbing him by the handcuffs pulled him up onto the bed. He kissed him fiercely, pushing his tongue into his mouth his hand moving down Dino's chest. He paused for a moment his fingers hovering at Dino's belly-button. Dino managed to push himself forward and kissed Hibari. He kissed his earlobe and down his neck stopping at the spot where his neck met his shoulder and brushed his lips against his skin in a soft kiss. He began to suck on the spot eliciting a small moan from Hibari, who had forgotten his position of dominance in the heat of the moment. Dino bit down there, making Kyouya cry out slightly. He smiled and kissed Hibari's earlobe.

"So, why don't you uncuff me, and I can give you what you want?" Dino whispered teasingly into his ear.

For a moment Hibari's resolve waivered. The idea of Dino's hands on his flesh, tying him down to the bed … He almost gave in. But, this was it. He was going to do it this time. This was payback.

He pushed him back into the bed and kissed down Dino's chest. Letting his tongue trace around his belly button; he could feel Dino stiffen beneath him writhing slightly as he kissed farther down his body. He bit into Dino's hip and could feel his need as Dino arched his back pressing into the mattress. Hibari licked the length of Dino's cock illiciting a stifled moan. Hibari smiled to himself. Dino clearly thought he was getting a blow job.

He kissed back up Dino's chest and bit his shoulder. Dino let out a gasp of pleasure and pressed against him. Hibari reciprocated, grinding against him, letting him feel his erection against his. He kissed Dino passionately, biting his bottom lip and making him moan. Hibari broke the kiss and smiled at him bringing his fingers up and sucking on them.

"So, you finally work up the courage to be on top?" Dino said trying to conceal his trepidation.

Hibari didn't say anything but continued to suck on his fingers making them wet. He spit in his palm and slicked himself.

"I never thought you were very interested in being top…" Hibari could hear Dino's nervousness in his voice.

"You talk a lot when you're nervous." Hibari remarked hooking Dino's legs over his shoulders. He leaned forward, relishing in how flexible his partner was and kissed him.

"I'm not nervous," Dino said looking away from his smug expression. "I'm perfectly…" He gasped. Hibari pushed a finger inside of him. "Ok, I'm done." Dino tried to propel Hibari off of him by pushing back with his legs. Hibari smirked and grabbed onto the headboard. Dino didn't have the leverage in his position to do anything.

"Isn't your favorite expression turn-about is fair play?" Hibari whispered into his ear. Hibari had the upper hand, the control, and it was clear on his face he was enjoying it. He pushed his finger in farther and moved it around. Dino squirmed uncomfortably beneath him.

"You're a smug bastard." Dino hissed. Hibari responded by pushing a second finger inside. Dino held in any sign that he was in pain. Hibari moved his fingers stretching him further and Dino's eyes widened in shock. Hibari withdrew his hand and braced himself. Dino couldn't help himself he closed his eyes in anticipation of Hibari's next move.

Kyouya pushed himself inside him, and Dino felt his body explode in pain. His eyes shot open. Usually, he was fine with pain, even enjoyed it during his normal nighttime proceedings with Hibari, but this was agony. He knew that Hibari was well aware that he was much more the sadist than the masochist; he must be doing this on purpose.

"You're so tight." Hibari breathed in a quiet moan, pulling out agonizingly slowly.

Despite the pain Dino felt a rush of pleasure shoot through him as he heard Hibari's exhalation.

"My…my nightstand, second drawer down," Dino panted. Hibari somewhat nonplussed opened the drawer; it was empty. "Behind the back panel." Hibari removed the panel and a tube of lube rolled out.

"You're a paranoid fuck." Hibari said staring at the drawer. He picked it up and applied a liberal amount to his fingers, applying it to himself and Dino.

"It's not paranoia if they're…" He was interrupted as Hibari pushed himself inside of him. Despite the added lubricant he felt like he was being split open. He could feel every slight adjustment Hibari made as he moved forcefully inside him. The frustration built up in Dino's mind, he did not like to be tied down like this, he did not like not having any control. With his legs on Hibari's shoulders he had no options. He wanted to touch Kyouya with his hands to feel his skin, make him moan. As Hibari thrust deeper into him he hit a spot, streaks of hot pleasure shot through his body. A moan escaped between his lips, and he felt his toes curl. The pleasure built with every thrust until finally… He felt Kyouya tense and then cum. Kyouya let out a long sigh and pulled out. Dino lay there motionless, in shock as Kyouya cleaned up and lay down next to him.

"Wait? That's it?" Dino said rolling over awkwardly onto his side to look at Kyouya.

"Hn?" Kyouya always became useless after sex. He yawned and pulled the covers over himself.

"You're… not… I mean…" Dino stuttered. "I'm still…"

"I know." Hibari said. "It's called. 'Pay back'"

"You could at least uncuff me." Dino said perturbed.

"meh."

"You're a bastard."

"I know." Hibari reached out and pulled Dino close to him, holding him to his chest. Dino bit his nipple. Hibari swatted him.

"Come on…" Dino moaned into his ear. He reached out his tongue and licked Hibari's earlobe, drawing it into his mouth and gently running his teeth along its edge. He knew it was working. Hibari stiffened slightly tilting his head back as Dino ran his tongue along his neck. Dino bit down illiciting a soft moan from Hibari. He could feel his lover's cock harden against him. Hibari rolled away from him to try and regain some control over himself and steady his resolve not to continue. He got up and disappeared into the bathroom to clean up. Dino took his chance and awkwardly maneuvering he managed to get the handcuffs up and over his legs so that his hands were bound in front of him. Hibari returned and laid back down his back to him. Dino reached out and ran a finger down Hibari's exposed spine. He spun around. His eyes narrowed dangerously at seeing Dino's new position. Dino waved. In an instant Hibari was on top of him straddling him pinning his arms down with his knees. Unbeknownst to Hibari, Dino had managed to get a hold of the lube; he popped the lid off and covered his fingers.

"You're supposed to stay," He growled.

"You know you've exposed yourself." Dino said with a smile.

"What?"

Dino didn't have to answer him. Kyouya gasped as Dino thrust one if his fingers inside him. He shuddered slightly and leaned forward to grip the headboard as Dino expertly moved his finger reaching out and brushing the nerves that Dino thought of as the "off switch". The slightest touch was enough to turn off all of Kyouya's higher brain functions. He had enough movement with the handcuffs to be able to hold Kyouya's hips and move him to a better position on his chest. Dino brought Kyouya up so that he was on his knees over him and leaning forward so that Dino could take his cock into his mouth. At the same time he added a finger. The combination of movement was exquisite. Dino slowly rubbed his fingers in just the right spot, curling them into the nerve ending causing Kyouya to moan, while simultaneously running his tongue over the tip of his lover's erection. Kyouya removed a hand from the head board and tangled his fingers in Dino's hair. Dino kept his fingers moving on the spot, taking more of Kyouya into his mouth.

"ah." Kyouya's breath caught at the change in feeling.

"hm?" Dino replied drawing out the vibration around Hibari's shaft.

"Dino…" The name came spilling out of Kyouya in a moan. He was so…. Close….

Suddenly, Dino stopped everything right before Kyouya could reach the point of satisfaction. Dino couldn't help but smile at the look of shock and pleading need that flashed across Kyouya's face in that instance. The hand in Dino's hair became a fist and he pulled his head back so that Kyouya could clearly see his face. He glared daggers at him.

"Turn about is fair play," Dino grinned hugely up at him. Kyouya narrowed his eyes dangerously, he was not amused. "I can keep you on the edge for as long as I want…." He licked the length of Kyouya's cock. He felt Hibari's hand tighten painfully in his hair again. "You know you want me inside of you…" He pushed a finger back inside and brushed against the 'switch' to prove his point. That was it, he'd won and he knew it. Kyouya slid down his body stopping just before his pelvis. He leaned forward and kissed him and reaching around stroked Dino's erection eliciting a soft moan. Hibari carefully moved backwards, their eyes locked, guiding Dino's erection so that it penetrated him. He closed his eyes and couldn't suppress a moan as he felt Dino move inside him. He started moving slowly gradually increasing pace until finally he was riding Dino hard and fast.

Dino was close. He was almost there. He could feel Hibari's muscles tightening and fluttering around him and it felt so good. He wanted to cum. He didn't care if he did before Kyouya, it would be a little bit of revenge. Kyouya must have seen it in his face, he slammed his hand down on Dino's neck cutting off his air-supply. Dino gasped and writhed in shock, Hibari wasn't able to string a coherent sentence together and settled with a growl that turned into a moan as Cavallone's cock slammed into his spot. He pushed back against him and moaned his hand tightening around Dino's throat. Dino gasped as Hibari's fingers dug into his skin and he could see stars as Kyouya finally came tightening around him and pushing Dino further inside him. Dino couldn't hold it in. He came hard, finally reaching exquisite ecstasy.

Hibari let go of his throat and dismounted collapsing on the bed next to Dino panting. He could hear Dino's contented sigh and somewhat labored breathing next to him.

Dino looked at him and held up his still bound hands. "Please Kyouya… I want to hold you…"

Hibari managed a glare before weighing his options and finally mustering the energy to get up and fetch the key from his pants pocket. While he was up he grabbed a box of tissues and wiped his cum off of Dino's chest. He unlocked the handcuffs and threw them in the vicinity of his scattered clothing. Hands finally free Dino immediately grabbed Kyouya and pulled him down to his chest in a tight embrace.

"I missed you… God I missed you so much…" He whispered stroking Kyouya's hair.

_I missed you too… I missed the way you look at me after sex all raw emotion and passion… I missed how you yammer on about stupid herbivorous things while I'm trying to work… I missed your massive cock… I missed how I was the only one allowed to touch you like this and the only one you held like this… I missed how you never let me push you away….._ Kyouya laid silently next to him all these things screaming inside his head and being unable to say them. He nuzzled Dino's neck. There was a long moment of contented silence. Until, Dino shifted and Hibari knew from the movement of his body that he had a pressing thought he needed to express.

"… So… Your plan was to fill me full of cum and give me blue balls?"

Hibari shrugged. _I wanted to make you feel the way you made me feel. I wanted to make you feel wanted, needed, an important part of something, and then just at the point when you're feeling like you've finally found that part of yourself that's been missing, that you didn't even know you needed, and you feel complete and whole for the first time in your life… it's gone and you're left feeling used, unsatisfied, and alone._ "Same thing… smaller scale…" He finally mumbled into Dino's shoulder.

"Kyouya…I… I'm sorry…I…" Dino began.

"Tch. Omnivore…. Just promise you'll never do it again…"

"I promise." Dino said his throat tight with emotion. "I…" Hibari interrupted him by putting a hand over his mouth.

"sleep…."

There was a moment of silence while Hibari snuggled closer and Dino tried to relax enough to fall asleep.

"….."

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"You're thinking too loud,"

"Sorry," Dino shifted. "Kyouya….?"

"what?"

"Did you find the letter?"

"yes…."

"So you signed the documents?"

"yes… Get to the point…"

"Kyouya… We're essentially married…."

"…. what?"

* * *

The End.

A/N: Wow. I finally finished the first fanfic I started. Thank you so much for sticking with me. I had originally intended to make it only 10 chapters... A year later and 42 chapters... Sort of Apropos... since 42 is the answer to Life the Universe and Everything. (lol) So I hope everyone enjoyed it. I would really like to know what everyone thought about it over all. And I'm curious to know if there is any kind of demand for a sequel.

SO please review and let me know what you think!


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